5D's Alternative Book 1: Stardust and Roses
by Count Morningstar
Summary: AU. Yusei and Aki met years ago, but a tragic twist of fate tore them apart. Vowing to get her back, Yusei finds her in a prison deep beneath Satellite. But to escape the prison the two must face an evil from a dark future.
1. Prologue

**Introduction:** This is a story that I've been meaning to do for just about a year now, but have had trouble piecing together. But a few days ago I just sat down and started doing an outline for it and it all came together. So this little AU of mine is going to be divided into three stories, the first of which is going to focus on Yusei and Aki. It's going to be a mix between the 5D's anime and manga with a few of my own little twists. Also going to be featured in a later chapter of this story is an OC that was created by sammycrusinix and is the star character of her story, _When Blackbirds Meet_. It's a good read, especially for all you Crow fans out there. That said, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. If I did, Yusei and Aki actually would've kissed at the end of the series.

* * *

Prologue

Ten-year-old Yusei Fudo was busy at work repairing a small wind-up toy in the small shed out behind the Satellite Orphanage. He had a knack for repairing mechanical items, and he put that talent to good use by fixing the old toys that would often get broken at the orphanage. Of course he would usually have to scrounge for new parts, but that was just how things were in the Satellite. Right outside the open door of the shed Yusei's young friend's Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan were arguing about something. Just what Jack and Crow were arguing about, Yusei had no clue. But he was sure it wasn't anything big, as their arguments were a fairly regular occurrence.

As Jack and Crow continued, Yusei's other friend Kiryu Kyosuke arrived. The slightly older silver-haired boy shook his head and sighed when he saw his two friends arguing.

"Crow, Jack, what're you going on about now?" Kiryu asked as he crossed his arms.

"This lunkhead thinks that cavemen could beat astronauts in a fight!" Crow explained.

"Of course cavemen can beat astronauts!" Jack insisted. "Astronauts don't have weapons! All it'd take would be for a caveman to beat the living tar out of an astronaut with his club!"

"Like a wooden club could break a space suit!" the redhead argued.

"It could to!" Jack told him.

"Could not!" Crow argued.

"Could to!" Jack shot back.

"Will you two cut it out?" Kiryu ordered in a tone that caused Jack and Crow to flinch. "Martha sent me to come get you guys. She wants everyone to meet out in the front yard."

"Why the heck does Martha want us to gather in the front yard?" Jack wondered.

"Probably 'cause we've some new kid coming here to live with us." Crow assumed.

"Well whoever this new kid, he is better remember that I, Jack Atlas, is the one who's in charge around here." The blonde proclaimed.

"Gee, does Martha know that?" Crow asked with a wry grin.

"Shut up!" Jack fired back.

"Hey, do you guys know where Yusei is?" Kiryu asked. "I was sent to get him too."

"He's in his little workshop fixing that toy Timmy broke." Crow answered. "Where else would he be?"

"You guys go on ahead then. Yusei and I will catch up." Kiryu told them.

Jack and Crow nodded before walking off. As they left, Kiryu could hear them picking up where they left off on their previous argument. But he ignored them and walked into the shed where Yusei was still hard at work.

"Hey Yusei, Martha wants us to gather out front." Kiryu informed him. Yusei did not seem to hear him. "Yusei?" Again dark-haired boy did not respond.

Kiryu knocked on the side of the open door of the shed, causing Yusei to flinch. At last he turned around.

"Sorry Kiryu, guess I didn't hear you." Yusei told him.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Kiryu assured him. "Sometimes I forget that you go into your own little world when you're trying to fix something. I guess you'd need to with Jack and Crow around. So how close are you to fixing that thing?"

"Almost done. Just gotta put the back piece back on." Yusei answered as he began to screw the back cover of the wind-up mouse back on.

Kiryu walked up to the table as Yusei tightened the last screw. Yusei turned the key three times and the mouse began to move forward, stopping almost half a foot from where it started.

"Looks like you've done it again." Kiryu observed. "So what was wrong with it?"

"Timmy wound the key too much and broke the spring." Yusei explained. "I had a heck of a time finding a new one that would fit."

"Well I'm sure Timmy will be happy now that it's all fixed up." Kiryu assumed. "Now c'mon, everyone's waiting for us in the front yard."

"Why's everyone in the front yard?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, right. Martha wants everyone to gather out front." Kiryu explained, remembering that Yusei hadn't heard a word he had said when he entered the shed. "She probably wants all of us out there to welcome some new kid that's going to be staying here."

"Just how many kids were made orphans by the Zero Reverse?" Yusei wondered with a look of sadness in his blue eyes.

"Too many man." Kiryu replied with a pat on Yusei's shoulder. "But hey, at least we have each other, right?"

"Yeah, I guess we do have that." Yusei agreed as his expression lightened a bit. "Well, I guess we shouldn't keep Martha and the others waiting."

In moments Yusei and Kiryu had reached the front yard where every other child at the orphanage had all gathered together. The two boys made their way up front where Crow and Jack were already waiting. Martha, the woman who ran the orphanage, waited at the end of the small dirt path by the road that went past the old but still functioning building. Before long a black van pulled up before Martha and the side door opened. A very official-looking woman with blonde hair came out of the van with a girl who looked to be nine or ten.

Yusei's eyes widened a bit when he saw the girl. She had burgundy-colored hair that was long in the front and a pair of gold eyes. Her outfit consisted of a pink hooded jacket with a red shirt and pink skirt. Slung over her left shoulder was a large yellow duffle bag that contained her belongings.

"Looks like we've got another girl staying with us, huh Yusei?" Crow observed. Yusei said nothing. "Hello, earth to Yusei." Crow called as he waved his hand in front of Yusei's face.

"Huh?" Yusei finally responded. "Did you say something Crow?"

"What's with you?" Crow asked with a raised eyebrow. "You just started staring off into space all of a sudden."

Before Yusei could answer, the government woman Martha was talking to got back into the van and drove off, leaving the girl behind. The van drove off and Martha escorted the girl towards the large group of orphans.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Aki Izayoi." Martha introduced. "She's going to be staying with us."

The children all said their collective hellos to Aki, all accept for Yusei who's mind seemed to go elsewhere again when he locked his eyes back on Aki. Aki's only response meanwhile was to flinch away a little.

"Now, now. There's no need to be shy Aki. We're all friends here." Martha assured her. "Children, why don't you all run along and play while I help get Aki settled in?"

The mob of children quickly dispersed, all that is except for Yusei and his three friends. Yusei's eyes remained transfixed on Aki. Jack and Crow were both giving Yusei odd looks while Kiryu snickered to himself a bit and shook his head.

"Yusei, would you and the others mind keeping Aki company while I go in and check to make sure things are ready for her?" Martha requested.

"Don't worry Martha, we'll keep a good eye on her." Kiryu replied, as Yusei clearly didn't hear her.

Martha went into the house and a sort of awkward silence fell over the group. Yusei stepped forward a bit, causing Aki to tense up a little.

"Uh, hi." The dark-haired boy nervously greeted as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Yusei, Yusei Fudo. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi." Aki greeted back as she turned her head away.

"Uh, these are my friends Crow, Jack, and Kiryu." Yusei introduced. "You know, um, this is actually a pretty nice place."

"If you say so." Aki replied, still looking away from him.

"Aki, if you like I can show you to your room so you can put your things away." Martha called from the house.

Aki headed for the house, walking past Yusei and the others as if they didn't exist. Yusei was left feeling as if he had said something wrong, though he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that he didn't like that Aki didn't seem to like him very much.

"Boy, she was real friendly." Crow sarcastically commented.

"C'mon Crow, she's probably going through a pretty rough time right now." Kiryu pointed out.

"One thing's for sure though, Yusei just made a complete fool out of himself." Jack remarked with a smug grin.

"Can it Jack." Kiryu told him. "Hey Yusei, how 'bout you go find Timmy and give him that toy you fixed?"

"Huh?" Yusei replied after beging snapped from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Good idea."

* * *

Yusei was lying in his bunk looking up at the bottom of the top bunk that was occupied by Kiryu. The full moon shined through the window as Jack and Crow slept soundly in the neighboring bunk beds. The entire house was as silent as a grave as Yusei's thoughts went back to Aki. Try as he might he couldn't stop thinking about her, and he didn't understand why. Nor did Yusei understand why he was so nervous around her when they met earlier that day.

"Hey Kiryu, you awake?" Yusei softly called up.

"I am now?" Kiryu yawned back. "And right when I had gotten to sleep too."

"Sorry." Yusei told him.

"Don't worry about it." The silver-haired boy assured him. "You've got something on your mind, huh?"

"What do you think of Aki?" Yusei asked.

"She seems nice enough I guess." Kiryu answered after a moment. "A little gloomy, but who could blame her? I mean there's only one reason why kids end up at a place like this. Why do you ask?"

"Well… I can't seem to stop thinking about her for some reason." Yusei admitted.

"Ah, I kinda figured." Kiryu replied with a slight chuckle. "I saw the way you were looking at her before. And how you couldn't seem to keep her eyes off her during dinner. You've got it bad, dude."

"Got what?" Yusei asked with a confused expression.

"A crush on Aki." Kiryu answered bluntly. "And a pretty big one too from the looks of it."

"A crush? Me?" Yusei replied as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of you know." Kiryu pointed out. "I've been through it a couple times myself."

"So… what do I do then?" Yusei asked.

"Well, the best thing you can do is just try and get to know her." Kiryu answered. "Try and hang out with her. She just might like you back."

"How am I supposed to do that though?" Yusei sighed. "She'd barely talk to me today."

"Just give it time. Try talking to her again tomorrow." Kiryu suggested. "Maybe she'll be less shy."

"Yeah, maybe." Yusei doubtfully agreed. "Thanks Kiryu."

"No problem." Kiryu replied. "Goodnight."

The room fell silent again as Kiryu drifted off to sleep in the top bunk. But sleep would not come so easily for Yusei. His mind was swirling with what Kiryu had just suggested. Clearly Yusei was in unfamiliar territory. He had never before looked at girls in that way. Yet Yusei had no reason to doubt what Kiryu thought it was. The only problem left was how to approach Aki. Yusei decided it would be best to deal with that problem in the morning, and before long he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Over the course of the following three days, Yusei tried to talk to Aki but failed each time. Yusei found himself getting tongue tied at the start of each attempt, only managing to say hi and perhaps one or two other words. And each time Aki would simply leave. It didn't seem to help matters that Aki was so closed off. She didn't seem to want to open up to anyone at the orphanage. Since her arrival Aki kept to herself and would often leave a room when others would enter.

That afternoon Yusei was pacing around the hallway right outside Aki's room. He had decided to try and invite Aki to come along with him and three friends to scrounge for parts to use in his various repairs and other projects, and was rehearsing just how to ask her to come with.

"So you still haven't worked up the nerve to speak to Izayoi, eh Yusei?" a familiar voice observed. Yusei turned and saw that it was Jack. "You're so pathetic. Just ask her to go out and be done with it already."

"How do you know about this Jack?" a surprised Yusei asked.

"Crow told me." Jack explained as he crossed his arms. "Though looking back on it I suppose it was obvious."

"Well how did Crow find out?" Yusei wondered.

"I accidentally overheard you and Kiryu talking about it the other night." Crow explained as he arrived with Kiryu. "Sorry 'bout that bro."

"Anyway, Jack does have a point." Kiryu cut in. "You should just stop hesitating and talk to her."

"But what if Aki turns me down?" Yusei asked.

"The way that girl's been giving you the cold shoulder you should be used to it by now." Jack told him.

"That's some real helpful advice there Jack." Crow said sarcastically. "But anyway Yusei, the way I see it you've got nothing to lose unless you don't try."

"Well… okay then." Yusei replied with a big gulp. "Here goes nothing I guess."

Hesitantly, Yusei knocked on the door. After what seemed like a very long moment to Yusei, the door opened a crack and Aki peeked out.

"Uh, hi." Yusei nervously greeted.

"What do you want?" Aki demanded to know.

"Well, uh, I was wondering if maybe, um," Yusei began, "I mean the guys and I were thinking that maybe you'd like to go with us to look for junk."

"Junk?" Aki repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah." Yusei confirmed. "It'd just be the five of us and you wouldn't have to go if you didn't want to. I just thought that maybe you'd, uh, like the fresh air. Maybe."

Yusei felt sure that he blew it when Aki didn't respond. But suddenly her eyes widened and she threw open the door.

"Hey! Where did you get that mark?" Aki asked as she pointed at Jack.

The mark Aki was referring to was on Jack's right arm made bare by the white t-shirt he was wearing. It was a red mark in the shape of a pair of wings.

"What, you mean my birthmark?" Jack asked as he raised his arm so that Aki could get a better look. "It's no big deal. I've always had this mark. Why are you so interested in it all of a sudden."

"Oh, uh… no reason." Aki answered as she looked away and rubbed her right forearm.

"So… would you like to go with us?" Yusei asked again after a moment.

"Go with you where?" Aki asked.

"To look for junk." Yusei reminded her.

"Oh… yeah I guess that'd be okay." Aki finally agreed.

"Really?" Yusei asked as his face lit up a bit. Aki nodded. "Well okay then. Let's get going."

A few minutes later Yusei and the others had left the orphanage and arrived at the massive junkyard that was not far away. It was one of many junkyards that were present in Satellite. The island had long ago become a dumping ground for trash from the city of Neo Domino. Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Kiryu spent the next couple of hours scrounging through the piles of scrap and putting selelcted items in bags as Aki looked around. Far off in the distance was a massive ivory obelisk that was so tall that it almost seemed to touch the sun.

"Hey, what's that big tower over there?" Aki asked as the others were scrounging for parts, pointing out at the obelisk.

"That's the Infinity Spire." Crow explained. "Everyone who's grown up in Satellite knows about it."

"Oh, well I'm not from Satellite." Aki revealed. "I used to live in the city."

"Seriously? You're from Neo Domino?" a shocked Crow asked. "How'd you wind up here then?"

"This is just where they sent me after my parents died." Aki answered.

"How the heck did your parents die anyway?" Jack asked rather insensitively. "Was it a car accident or something?"

"Uh, yeah. It was an accident." Aki replied as she looked away sadly and held her right arm.

"Jack! You shouldn't ask her about that stuff if she doesn't want to talk about it!" Yusei snapped.

"Well excuse me for being curious." Jack huffed.

"Sorry about that." Yusei told Aki. "I know it must be hard to talk about that stuff."

"It's okay." Aki assured him. "So what is that tower exactly?"

"Oh, the Infinity Spire?" Yusei recalled. "It was built not long after the Zero Reverse happened. Actually no one really remembers when it was built exactly. It just seemed to appear one day all of a sudden. But it's built where the old Momentum Reactor used to be."

"Does anyone live in that tower?" Aki asked.

"Just the people who run Satellite." Kiryu answered. "They're called the Infinity Triad. No one really knows much about those guys though. Not even what they look like."

"They sound scary." Aki remarked.

"Yeah, but they usually don't bother anybody though." Yusei assured her.

"Hey Yusei, we should probably be heading back now." Kiryu suggested. "I'm sure Martha's already started cooking dinner by now."

"Yeah, okay." Yusei agreed. "I think this'll give me enough to work with for a few days anyway."

"How come you guys needed all this junk?" Aki inquired as they boys picked up their bags of scrap.

"Yusei needs it for his repair work." Crow explained. "He fixes most of the old broken stuff at the orphanage and even makes new stuff."

"You must be good at fixing stuff." Aki told Yusei.

"You kidding? Yusei's the best." Kiryu praised.

"Well, I do what I can." Yusei replied modestly as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh anyway, I guess we really should be heading back to the house now."

"Okay." Aki agreed as they began walking. "Hey Yusei. You think we could do this again sometime?"

"Uh, sure." Yusei enthusiastically replied. "That'd be great."

* * *

The days passed and slowly Aki began to open up a little more to Yusei and his friends. Aki was still fairly closed off, but she would usually spend her time hanging around the four boys. She mostly talked only to Yusei, but would interact with the others on occasion. Before long two months had gone by, and one afternoon Aki was with Yusei in his little workshop, watching him fix up and old remote control racecar that Aki had found during one of the gang's junk expeditions. Once Yusei finished making a few adjustments to the remote he set the car down on the ground to test it. The small car revved to life and followed the directions Yusei gave it through the controller.

"Well, looks like it works." Yusei observed as he switched the remote the car off. "This was a good find Aki."

"Thanks." Aki replied. "So what're you going to do with it?"

"One of the younger kids here has a birthday coming up." Yusei revealed as they left the shed. "I figured this would make a good birthday present for him."

"I'm sure he'll like it." Aki assumed.

As the two of them reach the front of the house they saw Martha talking to three security officers. And she had a very angry expression on her face. Aki's face went a little pale when she saw the three officers.

"This has to be some sort of mistake!" Martha told the lead officer. "Surly you can't think a nine-year-old girl could be capable of what you're accusing her of!"

"Look ma'am, I find this about as hard to swallow as you do. But the report says that the deaths of Senator Izayoi and his wife was no accident." The lead officer told her. "And I've got my orders to follow."

"What's going on here?" Yusei asked, getting the officers' attention.

The lead officer looked at Aki and examined a picture he had in his hand. "Yep, that's the senator's daughter all right. Cuff her boys."

Before Yusei or Martha could react, the other two officers rushed over to where Yusei and Aki were standing. One of them knocked Yusei down while the other put Aki in handcuffs.

"Hey! What're you doing to Aki?" Yusei demanded to know.

"Sorry kid, but your little kid is responsible for the deaths of her parents." The lead officer informed him.

"What? That's crazy!" Yusei told him. "Aki couldn't do such a thing!"

"No Yusei. It's true." Aki said on the verge of tears. "I… killed them."

"Okay, let's go." The lead officer told his colleagues.

In moments the security officers dragged off Aki into a waiting van. At last Yusei got back to his feet and ran after the van as it drove off.

"Yusei! Come back!" Martha called, but Yusei didn't hear her.

Yusei chased after the van down the road, but no matter how hard he ran the van quickly moved out of sight. He kept running though, trying to catch up to the van that had stolen Aki away. Yusei felt like he was suddenly trapped in some sort of nightmare. It was hard to believe that only moments ago that he and Aki were just having a normal day and then suddenly a group of security officers had come and taken Aki a way for a crime that was impossible for her to have committed.

Eventually Yusei finally stopped running. He soon had to accept the bleak reality that Aki was too far out of reach. Tears stung his eyes as he stopped to catch his breath. Suddenly Yusei felt a chill ran down his spine and he saw that a thick fog had rolled in and covered the area. Moments later he heard a sort of clopping noise coming towards him like hooves striking pavement. Emerging from the fog was a skeletal horse wrapped almost entirely in old tattered bandages like a mummy. The rider of this undead steed was a skeleton clad in dark armor and a tattered cape. On his left arm Yusei noticed what looked to be a duel disk.

"Who… what are you?" Yusei asked the rider.

"You may call me the Skeleton Knight." The unearthly rider answered. "What brings a boy like you all the way out here?"

"I… I was trying to catch the security van that took Aki." Yusei explained.

"Ah yes, I know of the girl you speak." The Skeleton Knight chuckled. "But what could you possibly do to save her? A mere child couldn't possibly hope to stand against the security forces or the power of the Infinity Triad."

"I don't care!" Yusei told him. "I have to get Aki back! And I don't care what stands in my way!"

"It seems you care a great deal for this girl." The Skeleton Knight observed. "You might have a chance to save her after all. But to do that, you will need power."

With that, the Skeleton Knight pulled a Duel Monsters card out from beneath the collar of his cape and threw it down to Yusei. Yusei caught the card and looked at it. The card itself had a white border, and the monster it depicted was a silvery-white dragon with magnificent wings and well-developed arms and legs. Its head ended in a three-pointed crest and at the end of its snout was a long horn.

"Stardust Dragon?" Yusei read as he looked at the name of the card.

"That card possesses great power." The Skeleton Knight revealed. "The kind of power you will need in order to save the girl. But you're going to have to master it first. Good luck boy."

Suddenly the fog became extremely thick and then broke apart in an instant. And with the fog gone, so was the Skeleton Knight. Yusei stood in the middle of the road looking at the card the undead knight had given him as Crow, Jack, and Kiryu ran up from behind.

"Yusei, what the heck do you think you're doing?" Kiryu asked. "Do you have any idea how worried Martha is right now?"

"What the duce is going on anyway?" Jack asked. "Why the heck did security take Izayoi?"

"Guys… I don't know how or when. But I'm going to find Aki and get her back." Yusei vowed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This prologue ended up being a little longer than I thought it'd be. But there was a lot of ground to cover. In case anyone is wonder, the Skeleton Knight is one of the main villains of the 5D's manga. Though I guess one could say that he had sort of a role in the anime too, but I don't want to give anything away. Anyway, there's going to be a bit of a time skip in chapter one, which hopefully I'll have up in a day or so.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Gladiators

**Author's Note:** While duels aren't always necessary to Yu-Gi-Oh! stories, there are going to be Turbo Duels but they're going to be done a little differently. They're going to be done more like they are in the manga, which means no Speed World or Speed World 2. I just felt that the duels would be easier to write that way. But I am going to replace the Speed World rule with something else.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 1: Gladiators

Beneath the island of Satellite was a massive prison known by many only as the Pit. The Pit was a maximum-security facility where all the scum of both Satellite and Neo Domino was dumped. The place was called the Pit because the center of the complex was a massive wide circular shaft that went a hundred feet down. The very top of this shaft was open to show the sky, tormenting the prisoners within the complex with the hope of freedom. Though there did seem to be some hope of release, yet it was very slim.

Half way down the massive shaft was a circular track used to hold Turbo Duels. The prisoners of the Pit competed against one another in these duels for a single prize. Those who won a hundred straight duels would win an early release from the prison. A single defeat would mean that the prisoner would have to start all over again. That is if the prisoner survived. For these were not the friendly Turbo Duels that those on the surface enjoyed. The stakes were very high, and often the result would be injury to one of the players. There were even times when the losing prisoner would fall to his death fifty feet below.

The Pit was where misfortune had landed eighteen-year-old Yusei Fudo after the fall of his duel gang one rainy night. And for almost two years he participated in these brutal duels to regain his freedom. Of course Yusei could've chosen not to duel. The Turbo Duels were not mandatory and his sentence was relatively short. But Yusei was never one to accept his fate lying down. Besides, there were many things he had left to do on the outside. One task especially would weigh heavily on his mind every now and then.

That morning, Yusei prepared to go out onto the track for another duel. Pulling up next to him on the spiraling entrance ramp was his opponent, a fairly muscular man with a shaved head and small brown beard. He had on a pair of sunglasses and his face was almost completely covered in yellow marks that prisoners from both Neo Domino and Satellite were branded with.

"So you're the guy I'm gonna be up against?" the bald man laughed as he looked at Yusei. "You're nothin' but a kid! By the time I'm done with you they'll have to scrape ya off the bottom of the pit."

Yusei said nothing in response. It was not the first time he had heard that kind of boasting.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman to another exciting Turbo Duel here in the Pit!" a voice echoed over the prison intercom.

Many of the non-dueling prisoners that had gathered at the windows around the track cheered. Though the announcement was not for them. The duels of the pit were broadcast on pay per view networks so that the public outside could watch and bet on the outcome.

"Now, for our first duel of the day," the announcer's voice continued, "we have prisoner number 5341, Yusei Fudo, and prisoner 6162, Crusher McClain! Both duelists on your marks get set, duel!"

With that, both Yusei and Crusher sped up the track on their D-Wheels. Both were neck and neck as they spiraled up closer to the hatch of the main track above. At the last moment though, Yusei sped up and beat Crusher through the hatch. Once Crusher made it through the hatch it slammed shut behind them.

"Okay! For all you first time viewers out there, the one who makes it first onto the main track not only gets the first turn of the duel but also gets to activate the Track Field Spell." The announcer explained to those who were watching the duel from the comfort of home.

"Track Field, activate!" Yusei called as he placed a card in the consol of his D-Wheel. "Junk Town!"

In moments the inside of the pit seemed to completely transform. The walls vanished to reveal a wide blue sky. All around were piles of junk and huts that looked as if they were made from scrap. But it was only an illusion. The circular track Yusei and Crusher were on was still around a deep gaping hole in the earth. And seeming to float in space a few feet off the ground around the track were a few rectangular windows that showed the faces of the prisoners that had come to watch the duel.

"First I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!" Yusei announced.

Appearing in the air next to Yusei's cycle was a warrior clad completely in purple armor and wearing a tattered black cape cape. In his left hand he carried a red and black sword with a large triangular blade.

"Next I equip Junk Blader with Rusted Blade-Rust Edge!" Yusei announced. "This raises Junk Blader's ATK from 1800 to 2600!"

The sword in Junk Blader's hand flashed and transformed. The new blade was little large than the original sword and was covered in years of rust.

"Now I set a card face down and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

"Wow! What an amazing first turn!" the announcer commented. "Yusei has already summoned a monster with 2600 ATK points!"

"Big deal!" Crusher scoffed a he drew his first card. "Anyone can beef up a puny monster like that with Spell cards. But in the end it's still trash. Watch how a real man duels! For my first turn I discard Vorse Raider, Battle Ox, and Luster Dragon to summon Montage Dragon!"

Appearing on the field was a large purple dragon with three heads. Each head of the dragon had on a white mask over its eyes.

"Because I discarded three level four monsters to summon it, Montage Dragon's ATK is 3600!" Crusher explained. "Now Montage Dragon, attack Junk Blader with Montage Flame!"

The dragon reared back all three of its heads and let loose three streams of flames at Junk Blader. The flames from the left head were green, the flames from the center head were yellow, and the flames from the right head were red.

"I activate a Trap, Defensive Draw!" Yusei quickly announced. "Not only do I not take damage from the attack but I get to draw a card!"

Junk Blader was hit by the flames and shattered into bits of light. At the last second before the flames were about to hit Yusei a transparent sphere appeared around his D-Wheel and protected him from the blast.

"Now the effect of Rusted Blade-Rust Edge activates!" Yusei announced. "When it's destroyed, my opponent takes 800 points of damage!"

The large rusted sword Junk Blader had been carrying suddenly spun through the air and struck Crusher on the shoulder. Crusher's large black D-Wheel skidded as his life points dropped to 3200.

"You little punk!" Crusher cursed.

"Now I activate the effect of Junk Town!" Yusei announced. "Once per turn when a Junk monster I control is destroyed, I can summon it back to the field in Defense Mode! Only its ATK becomes zero and it loses its effects."

A ball of blue light appeared next to Yusei's D-Wheel as it continued to circle the track. Junk Blader emerged from the ball and went into a kneeling position next to Yusei.

"Big deal! I end my turn!" Crusher announced.

Yusei drew his next card. "First I summon the Tuner monster, Quick-Span Knight!"

Appearing next to Junk Blader was a small humanoid robot that was mainly grey in color. Its large head looked like the head of a wrench.

"Now I tune Quick-Span Knight level three into Junk Blader level four for a Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

The robot glowed with an orange light and turned into three circles of green light. The rings of light went around Junk Blader and transformed the warrior into four balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the advent of a divine force! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Descend to earth now, Lightning Warrior!"

The balls of light within the three glowing rings flashed and a massive bolt of blue lightning struck the track near Yusei. The light soon faded and in its place was a warrior with long blonde hair clad in silvery-white armor and mask. Around its neck was a long red scarf.

"I'll admit that was pretty flashy kid. But that pretty-boy monster of yours only has 2400 ATK." Crusher pointed out. "There's no way it can beat my Montage Dragon."

"Now the effect of Quick-Span Knight kicks in!" Yusei announced. "When it's sent to the Graveyard for a Synchro Summon, one of my opponent's monsters loses 500 ATK!"

From out of nowhere, Quick-Span Knight's head flew through the air and struck Montage Dragon on its center head. The dragon shook off the impact as its ATK points dropped to 3100.

"Next I activate Arms Regeneration!" Yusei announced. "This let's me take Rusted Blade-Rust Edge from the Graveyard and equip it to Lightning Warrior!"

Lightning Warrior raised his right arm forward. And the old rusted sword flew out from the pile of junk it had landed in after striking Crusher the previous turn and came into the warrior's open hand.

"Now I equip Lightning Warrior with Junk Barrage!" Yusei announced. Lightning Warrior began to glow with a faint green aura. "Then I play the Spell Card, Overflowing Treasure! This card increases Lightning Warrior's ATK 500 points for each card in both of our hands! And since together we three cards, Lightning Warrior's ATK jumps to 4700!"

"Hey! Now wait a second!" Crusher complained as Lightning Warrior glowed with a golden aura.

"Lightning Warrior, attack Montage Dragon with Lightning Punisher!" Yusei commanded.

Lightning Warrior raised his rusted sword and swung it down to shoot a bolt of lightning at Montage Dragon. The dragon shattered into bits of light and Crusher's life points dropped to 1600.

"Because Lightning Warrior is equipped with Junk Barrage, you now take damage equal to half of Montage Dragon's ATK!" Yusei announced.

Flaming pieces of junk rained down from the sky and headed right for Crusher. The track was just a little too narrow for Crusher's large D-Wheel to avoid and the debris struck him, dropping his life point total to a mere fifty points.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that you little…!" Crusher began to curse.

"Not this duel." Yusei told him. "Because now Lightning Warrior's effect kicks in! When he destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes 300 points of damage for each card in his hand!"

"Hey! Wait a second!" Crusher begged.

"This is what you get for calling my cards trash!" Yusei told him.

Lightning Warrior raised his left hand forward and shot Crusher with a bolt of blue lightning. Crusher was shocked as his remaining life points dropped to zero.

"And the winner of this duel is… Yusei Fudo!" the unseen announcer declared as the area in the pit changed back to normal.

The hatch in the floor of the track opened up and Yusei drove his cycle down through it. A dazed Crusher followed behind on his own vehicle. After making it down the ramp and taking a quick turn Yusei was back in the maintenance area where the competitors would work on their D-Wheels between duels. Upon making it to his own stall in the pits, Yusei was greeted by two individuals. One was a young man about his age with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. On his left cheek was a single yellow inverted triangle. This was Yusei's friend, Spanner Nelson.

The other individual waiting in the stall for Yusei was a slightly older and muscular gentleman with blue hair styled with long spikes. This was another of Yusei's friends in the Pit, Bolt Tanner. Though it was perhaps more accurate to say that Tanner was more of a friendly rival.

"You played good out there, Yusei." Spanner praised as Yusei wheeled his cycle into the stall.

"It wasn't really much of a challenge considering this duel makes your ninety-ninth win." Tanner commented.

"I'm just glad I got through it." Yusei told him as he began to check his D-Wheel.

"But you know what this means though Yusei. It means you're just one win away from getting out of this place, just like I am." Spanner reminded him.

"Isn't your next duel today Spanner?" Yusei recalled.

"Ack! That's right! And it's in ten minutes." Spanner remembered. "I better go get ready."

"Good luck out there." Yusei wished as Spanner ran off.

"Thanks. See you on the outside." Spanner replied before quickly heading to his stall.

"Nice kid, but I'm not sure if he stands a chance." Tanner cynically remarked.

"Spanner's a good duelist." Yusei noted. "He beat you once, and he even almost beat me."

"Yeah, but for his next duel he'll be up against someone from an elimination squad." Tanner pointed out. "It seems like no one is able to beat those guys. Even you lost to the one you faced."

Yusei sighed heavily and put down the wrench he was using to make an adjustment on his D-Wheel. As much as he hated to admit it, Tanner did have a point. While winning a hundred duels did win a prisoner their freedom from the Pit, the one hundredth always seemed to prove impossible to pull off. For that final duel was always against someone from what was known in the pit as an elimination squad. These squads were made up of prisoners who for one reason for another were able to cut a deal of some sort and gain special treatment.

Not only did these prisoners only have to win half as many duels to get out, they lived in a special section of the pit that was the lap of luxury compared to the rest of the prison. They were even paid for their victories. These eliminators seemed to be the one wall blocking any chance of early release. And it seemed like in each of those duels something would just seem to go wrong for the one challenging the eliminator.

"Even if something does go wrong, I'm sure Spanner will be able to beat the odds." Yusei declared as he got to his feet. "C'mon, let's go cheer Spanner on."

"Always the optimist." Tanner chuckled. "Fine then, I'm sure there are still a few good seats lately."

A few minutes later Yusei and Tanner made it to one of the viewing areas around the track. As soon as they pushed their way up to the front of the window they saw the hatch in the track come open.

"Well duel fans, we come to our second match of the day!" the faceless announcer spoke over the intercom. "And this next duel is a big one. As some of you may know, those who win a hundred straight duels in a row get an early release from their sentence. So now, competing for his one hundredth win, we have prisoner number 2329, Ted 'Spanner' Nelson! And competing against him in her debut in the pit, Eliminator Sherry LeBlanc!"

"A new eliminator? That's just great." Tanner sarcastically commented.

"Both players on your marks, get set, duel!" the announcer declared.

In seconds, a D-Wheel zoomed up out onto the track. But it wasn't the grey D-Wheel that Yusei and Tanner knew to be Spanner's. This one was white and almost resembled a horse. And its rider was a young woman with long blonde hair trailing out under her helmet. Spanner emerged onto the track a few seconds later and the hatch closed behind him.

"Track Field, activate!" Sherry announced as she place a card into the consul of her D-Wheel. "Maze of Black Thorns!"

In mere moments thick black vines covered in sharp thorns covered the walls of the arena. These vines even seemed to grow deep down into the pit below.

"I set one monster and end my turn!" Sherry announced.

Spanner drew his first card. "I summon Machina Gearframe in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the field next to Spanner was an orange robot with white limbs. Its forearms and ankles were covered in thick orange armor and its eye was a single green lens.

"Now I activate Machina Gearframe's effect and add a Machina monster to my hand!" Spanner announced as he took another card from his deck. "Now I discard Yellow Gadget and Green Gadget from my hand to summon Machina Fortress!"

Emerging on the field to move alongside Spanner's D-Wheel was a large blue tank-like robot. The machine's head was on the very top of its body and its arms came out towards the end of its tread wheels. On what could be considered the robot's left shoulder was a large futuristic cannon. As soon as Machina Frotress appeared though, a few black vines from the wall suddenly sprang to life and lashed at Spanner, causing him to skid.

"What's going on?" Spanner demanded to know.

"You were struck by one of the effects of Maze of Black Thorns." Sherry explained. "Each time one of us discards from our hands we take 400 points of damage for each card."

"Fine! Now I equip Machina Fortress with Machina Gearframe!" Spanner announced. The orange robot folded itself and attached on to the back of Machina Fortress.

"Why the heck would Spanner do something like that?" Tanner wondered. "With both those monsters out he would've had two attacks."

"He probably thinks Sherry's monster has some sort of flip effect she could use to destroy Machina Fortress." Yusei assumed. "But because now Fortress is equipped with Gearframe there's less chance of it being destroyed."

"I guess I can't blame Spanner for playing it safe." Tanner mused. "He is up against an eliminator after all."

"Now, I attack your face down monster with Machina Fortress!" Spanner announced. But just as he was about to call the attack he noticed that his blue tank was wrapped in black vines. "What's going on now?"

"This is the second effect of Maze of Black Thorns." Sherry explained. "Monsters that are special summoned from the hand can't attack on their first turn."

"Fine! I end!" Spanner announced.

Sherry drew her next card. "First I flip summon Burgundy the Magical Elf!"

The monster Sherry had placed on the field during her first turn was revealed to be a fairy-like creature with pointed ears, antenna, and butterfly-like wings. It wore a black jumpsuit with a sort of pink eye drawn on the chest.

"Now I activate a Spell card, Name Erasure!" Sherry announced. "I get to guess the name of each card in your hand, and for every right guess you have to discard that card."

"What a total gamble." Tanner commented. "There's no way she could guess all of Spanner's entire hand. She'll be lucky to even guess one."

Sherry took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "In your hand you have Oilman, Scrap Recycler, and Machina Sniper!"

Spanner gasped, as Sherry accurately guessed all three of his cards. "H-How did you know?"

"No way! She guessed his entire hand?" an equally shocked Tanner exclaimed. "How is that even possible?"

Reluctantly, Spanner dumped all three cards into his Graveyard slot. As soon as he did, more of the vines on the wall came to life and lashed at him, reducing his life points to 2000.

"Now the effect of Burgundy the Magical Elf activates!" Sherry announced. "Each time my opponent discards from their hand, Burgundy inflicts 400 points of damage!"

Burgundy raised his right hand and fired a beam of pink light from his index finger. The beam hit Spanner in the back and caused him to skid. At the same time his life points dropped to a mere 800.

"This is crazy!" Tanner exclaimed. "She hasn't even attacked and Spanner's already lost almost all of his life points."

"I tribute Burgundy the Magical Elf to summon Klaret the Elite Magical Elf in Attack Mode!" Sherry announced.

Burgundy shattered into bits of light, and in his place appeared another elf that was older and a bit larger than Burgundy was. It wore robes instead of a jumpsuit and had grey hair and a beard. In its right hand it carried an old brown leather book.

"When my opponent has no cards in his hand, Klaret's ATK is doubled to 4000." Sherry announced. "Klaret, attack Machina Fortress! Sacred Magic Eye!"

Klaret fired two beams of pink light from the eyes on its butterfly wings at Machina Fortress. The robot tank exploded and the attack reduced Spanner's life points to zero. But that was not the only result of Sherry's attack. Surprisingly the resulting explosion hurled Spanner and his whole D-Wheel into the air, something that should not have been possible from mere holographic projection. As the projection of Sherry's Field Spell vanished Spanner collided with the track, almost going over the side. His D-Wheel was not so lucky. The dull grey motorcycle bounced once off the track and plummeted off the side to the ground fifty feet below. The other prisoners roared with excitement while Yusei and Tanner looked on with horror.

"Well, too bad for poor Spanner." The announcer commented as Sherry drove off the track. "Looks like he might live, but his early release has been put on hold. And now, a special word from Ms. LeBlanc's sponsor."

Appearing in the arena area was a large hologram of a man with brown hair wearing a green suit. Yusei knew that this man was not a prisoner, but something entirely different. All of the elimination squads had someone who acted as a sort of manager. It was usually some sort of rich businessman hoping to make a little extra cash off the duels in the Pit. Clearly, the man speaking through the hologram was one such individual.

"To those of you watching, greetings." The man spoke in a smooth even voice. "My name is Divine, and I am the manager of the newest elimination squad here in the Pit, Team Arcadia. We are not like any other elimination squad you have seen before though. Ours is a noble cause. We are an organization dedicated to honing the hidden powers of the human mind. Already you have witnessed the skill of Sherry LeBlanc, whose mind reading abilities are unmatched. Now see the other members of our team."

Divine's hologram changed to a picture of a young woman with long dark hair and fair skin. Yusei felt she could be a model with the face she had.

"This is the second member of our team, Misty Lola." Divine's voice continued. "Her abilities to predict the future make her a force to be reckoned with. But both she and Ms. LeBlanc are nothing compared to our final member."

The holographic image changed to another young woman, and Yusei's eyes went wide when he saw the image. It had been a few years and she had obviously grown since he last saw her, but he could never forget that burgundy hair or those golden eyes.

"Our final member is Aki Izayoi." Divine's voice introduced. "Her psychic powers are unmatched by anyone else. To those in the Pit who seek freedom, you will have to get past these three goddesses. And chances of that are quite slim." With that, the hologram of Aki vanished.

A little later Yusei and Tanner made it to the medical ward. There they found Spanner already in a bed being tended to by a pair of nurses. The doctor on call noticed the two's arrival.

"How is he doc?" Tanner asked. "How's Spanner?"

"Well, he'll live." The doctor sighed. "But he sustained extensive injuries, including a concussion and some spinal injuries. At this time I can't tell what the extent of the damage is, but I think his chances of ever getting on a D-Wheel again are slim."

"Oh man, this is brutal." Tanner declared. "All Spanner wanted was an early ticket out like the rest of us. Now it's all shot to hell."

"Can we see Spanner now?" Yusei asked the doctor.

"Not now I'm afraid." The doctor told them. "Perhaps you can come in tomorrow though. Out of curiosity, which member of this new elimination squad was your young friend up against?"

"Sherry LeBlanc, the one they say can read minds." Tanner answered.

"I see. Well then he got lucky." The doctor replied. "If your friend had gone up against that Izayoi girl, he'd probably be dead. There's a rumor about her that says she killed her parents at the age of nine."

Yusei's hand clenched into a fist and his teeth clenched. "Thanks for your help doctor. Let's go Tanner."

With that, the two left the medical ward. Both Yusei and Tanner were silent as they walked down the hall. As they walked, Yusei kept trying to figure out how things could've possibly turned out this way. For eight years he wondered where it was Aki had been taken to, and there she was. She had become an eliminator, someone he'd most likely be up against in his next duel. But that didn't really matter to him.

"Man, these eliminators just keep getting worse." Tanner commented, finally breaking the silence. "Now we've got ones with psychic powers."

"You really believe that stuff?" Yusei asked.

"Hey, you saw how that girl Spanner faced seemed to know every card in his hand." Tanner pointed out. "And then there was the damage he took in that last attack. His ride was literally blown off the ground."

"Yeah, you are right about that." Yusei admitted.

"You okay man?" Tanner asked. "You seem a little, I don't know, off."

"I'm fine." Yusei assured him. "I'm going to go work on my ride for awhile. See you later."

"Yeah, okay. Later." Tanner replied before turning down the right corridor.

Yusei meanwhile continued back to the maintenance area. His D-Wheel actually didn't need that much work done to it, but he needed to work on it anyway. He needed to think things through.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Since this is the first (technically second) chapter I decided to try an keep the duels simple. Actually, Yusei's duel in this chapter was sort of a reenactment of the first ever duel in the manga with a few tweaks. Yusei's deck in this story is based a little more on his deck from the manga than the anime. Though there will be a few classic cards from his anime deck appearing later on. Sherry's deck is also based on the one she used in the manga, and like in the manga she has mind reading powers.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Fated Reunion

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 2: Fated Reunion

The elimination squads of the Pit were known by many of the prisoners to have special accommodations near the top of the complex. The quarters of the squads were not mere cells but more like palatial mansions that were built underground. Each squad had its own mansion where they and at times even their manager would live until the end of their sentence. On the morning following Spanner's brutal defeat, Divine sat at the head of the grand dining room table in the Team Arcadia mansion finishing off the remains of his breakfast. Aki, Sherry, and Misty were all there as well, yet there was no conversation. Though that was noting new to Divine. After all, his three star players were not exactly what anyone would call a close-knit group. Usually Divine would have to be the one to start a conversation, but he was in no mood to do so. As Divine finished the last piece of his pancakes, a young woman with short blue hair wearing a white suit.

"Sir, the triad has contacted us." The young woman reported. "They wish to speak with you right away."

"I see. Well I guess I shouldn't keep them waiting." Divine assumed as he wiped his mouth with his silk napkin and got up from his chair. "Clean that up for me, will you?"

"Of course sir." The young woman replied before going over to pick up the plate.

Divine glanced back at Sherry, Misty, and Aki right before leaving the room. "I probably don't need to remind you ladies that you have the day off today. I suggest you take the time to enjoy yourselves."

Sherry and Misty both nodded slightly. Aki meanwhile said nothing and continued her meal. Divine chuckled softly as he left the room. Aki was still a fairly new recruit and he knew it would take her some time before she warmed up to him. But Divine was confidant that sooner or later she would accept him. After all, Aki didn't have a choice. She needed Divine to help her control her powers. Or at least that was what she had been led to believe.

Moments later after turning right down a short hallway, Divine entered a small dark room with three full-length mirrors, one on the wall facing him and the other two on the left and right walls. This was where contact was made with the Infinity Triad, the group that oversaw everything that went on in Satellite. And every now and then the manager of each elimination squad would have to report to them every now and then. Divine detested having to bow down to anyone, but for the moment at least it was a necessary evil he had to put up with.

Once the door slid shut behind him, Divine got down on one knee. "What is thy bidding, my masters?"

The mirror on the front wall began to glow with a white light that was almost blinding. Then on the front of the mirror appeared the dark silhouette of a large hulking figure that seemed to be wearing some sort of robes. The form of this person was so large that the mirror could not show it all.

"There is nothing major about our call Divine." The figure told him in an elderly male voice that seemed to be muffled by some sort of mask. "We merely wish to praise you on the performance of your squad member in yesterday's duel."

"I'm glad you approve, sir." Divine replied.

At this, the mirror on Divine's left flashed to life. The silhouette that appeared was much smaller than the first figure and seemed more heavily robed.

"Let's hope the other members of your squad are just as impressive." The small figure remarked in a voice that sounded like that of a boy about ten or a little older.

"I assure you, my masters. The other members of my squad are just as powerful." Divine told them. "In fact my newest recruit, Aki Izayoi, is far more powerful than the other two members of my team."

With that, the third and final mirror lit up and a third silhouette appeared. This figure was between the other two in terms of size and had a slender build.

"This Aki Izayoi wouldn't happen to be the later Senator Izayoi's daughter, would she?" the third figure inquired in a young male voice.

"The very same, sir." Divine confirmed. "She accidentally killed her parents with her powers."

"Oh yes, tragic business that was." The child-like figure recalled.

"It seemed to work out well for you though, my masters." Divine remarked. "If I remember correctly, the late Senator was one of your strongest opponents when it came to running the Satellite."

"That is none of your concern, Divine!" the large elderly figure told him in a stern tone. "Keep in mind that your position here is quite fragile."

"Yes, of course. Forgive me." Divine replied with a shudder.

"Your only concern is to make sure your squad pushes the prisoners dueling for their release to their limits." The large elderly figure reminded him. "The energy from their duels is vital to our purpose."

"It's also important that you keep those eager prisoners from winning their freedom." The child-like figure added. "I mean we can always throw more people into the Pit. But there's no sense in wasting good batteries."

"You needn't worry masters." Divine assured them. "My squad is capable of defeating any opponent."

"What about Yusei Fudo?' the young male figure asked. "Could they defeat him?"

"Yusei Fudo?" Divine repeated. "Oh yes, he's a prisoner who's also up for release. His ninety-ninth victory was just yesterday if I remember. Anyway, I'm sure any member of my squad can defeat him easily. But I can't control whether or not he duels one of them."

"But we can." The young male figure pointed out. "You say Ms. Izayoi is the strongest member of your squad. I shall see her power for myself."

"If you wish sir." Divine replied. "But if I might ask, what exactly is your interest in this Fudo character?"

"Let's just say that his father has committed a great crime against the world." The young male figure replied ominously. "And that he might do the same, given the opportunity."

"That will be all, Divine." The large elderly figure told him. And with that, the mirrors went dark.

* * *

Aki paced nervously around the drawing room, every now and then looking out the window at the large courtyard. Misty and Sherry meanwhile sat in the corner playing a game of chess. Though Sherry was having a hard time focusing on the game.

"Damn it Izayoi!" Sherry cursed. "Will you just sit down and read a book or something? I'm trying to concentrate on this game and your footsteps are making it impossible for me to make a move!"

"Sorry. I'm just nervous." Aki explained.

"Nervous about your first duel tomorrow, I'm guessing." Misty deduced. "What's the problem?"

"I'm just afraid I might end up killing whoever it is I'm dueling." Aki replied.

"Oh boo-hoo." Sherry scoffed. "It's not like we're using our powers on innocent people. We're locked in here with the scum of the earth. If one of them ends up dying because of us than we've done the world a favor."

"Besides Aki, we don't have anywhere else to go." Misty reminded her. "Our powers isolate us from the rest of the world. If we were still on the outside we'd be shunned or worse. I know if my younger brother had met Divine, he'd probably still be alive today."

"Besides Izayoi, it wouldn't be the first time your power killed someone." Sherry coldly pointed out. "The story is you killed your parents. What's one more death after doing something like that?"

Sherry's comment caused tears to form in Aki's eyes. "I'm going for a walk!"

Aki ran out of the room as fast as she could. In moments she turned a corner and was out the door. Once she was past the yard, Aki slowed her pace and got as far from the underground mansion as she could. Aki had not been in the Pit long, but she had explored enough of the special area reserved for the elimination squads to find a place where she could be alone, away from Divine and the other members of her team, and from the prying eyes of the surveillance cameras of the Pit. After only five minutes Aki reached that spot, a small corridor that dead-ended into a chain link fence that went all the way to the ceiling. Aki sat down on the floor against the wall and began to cry.

"Aki?" a voice called, getting her attention.

Slowly Aki got up to see who it was. And there standing on the other side of the fence was a person she had never expected to see again after her brief time at the Satellite orphanage. It had been a few years, but Aki couldn't mistake that black crab-shaped hair with its yellow highlights or those blue eyes. Of course he had a yellow mark on his cheek and his outfit was that of a normal prison uniform, consisting of long black pants with a grey shirt and black jacket. But Aki had no doubt about the young man's identity.

"Yusei?" Aki asked with a look of utter surprise. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah, hi." Yusei greeted with a wave.

"What… how did you end up in here?" Aki asked as she came closer to the fence.

"I wanted to ask you the same thing." Yusei replied. "I came here hoping that maybe I could somehow get a glimpse of you at least."

"Well I'm here." Aki confirmed. "But how did someone like you end up in the Pit?"

"It's kind of a long story." Yusei sighed.

"I've got time." Aki pointed out.

"Okay. Well a few years after you left Jack, Kiryu, Crow, and I started a duel gang." Yusei began. "It was Kiryu's idea. He said that chances were we'd never get out of Satellite, so he thought we should make the most of what we had by beating all the other duel gangs in Satellite."

"What was your gang called?" Aki asked.

"Team Satisfaction." Yusei answered. At this, Aki snickered a bit. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that 'Team Satisfaction' sounds like the name of a 1980s rock band." Aki explained.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Yusei chuckled. "It was actually Kiryu who came up with the name."

"So what happened?" Aki asked.

"I took us awhile, but we finally beat all the other duel gangs of Satellite." Yusei continued. "But after that, things started to go down hill. Kiryu became obsessed with protecting our position. He'd have us go after weaker duel gangs in order to prevent future opposition. Jack and Crow didn't like that very much. Then one day Kiryu set his sights on an opponent we could possibly take down, the security force."

"You mean you took on security?" a stunned Aki asked.

"Yeah, and everything went totally wrong." Yusei confirmed. "Kiryu ended up killing an officer. After that we were all arrested."

"So did you all end up here?" Aki asked.

"Crow got off pretty easy actually." Yusei revealed. "He ended up in some minimum security prison somewhere. I haven't seen him since the trial. As for Kiryu, he ended up here at the bottom of the Pit in the maximum-security area. In fact the last I heard was that he died. Though I don't know if it's true."

"What about Jack?" Aki inquired.

"Jack… he became part of an elimination squad." Yusei answered with the clench of his fist. "In fact he beat me last year in a duel. That was the duel that got him out of this place."

"You know I watched you guys duel a couple of times at the orphanage and back then it seemed like you two were evenly matched." Aki recalled. "Still, I can't really picture you losing to Jack."

"Yeah well… let's just say that duel wasn't normal." Yusei implied. "But enough about me Aki. How is it that you ended up here as part of an elimination squad?"

"Well, for years I was locked up in a special facility because of my powers." Aki began. "Then a few months ago I met Divine and he offered to try and help me control my powers. I trained for a while with him, Sherry, and Misty. Then the next thing I knew I was here. I guess you found out I was here after Sherry's duel when Divine introduced us."

"Yeah." Yusei confirmed. "Your teammate did a real number on my friend Spanner."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the person Sherry beat was your friend." Aki sympathetically told him. "How is he?"

"The doctor thinks he'll probably never duel again." Yusei answered.

"I'm sorry. You must hate me because of what happened." Aki assumed.

"What? Aki I don't blame you for what happened to Spanner." Yusei assured her. "I'm not crazy about your friend Sherry though."

"Sherry's no friend of mine." Aki told him. "We're just on the same squad. Still, I wouldn't blame you for hating me, considering what I am."

"Aki, I could never hate you." Yusei insisted.

"You say that now, but you've never seen me in action." Aki pointed out. "I have a duel tomorrow. Why don't you save your opinions until after you see that?"

"Okay, but will you meet me back here after it's over?" Yusei requested.

"I'll be here, but I doubt you'll be." Aki agreed. "I should get going before Divine starts wondering where I am."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." Yusei replied.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Aki agreed, though she was sure it was not going to happen.

Somewhat reluctantly Aki began to head for the mansion. She wished her reunion with Yusei had lasted longer. It was after all a long time since they last saw one another, and she had thought about Yusei often over the years. There was one thing that Aki was sure of though, and that was that Yusei would not come back to that fence after he saw her next duel. After all, who would want to spend their time around a monster?

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry that Sherry isn't being painted in a very flattering light in this story. It just sort of happened that way. Anyway, this chapter pretty much introduced the main villains of this story. I tried adding an heir of mystery to who they are, but I have a feeling it's pretty obvious. Heck, the cover art I whipped up for this thing is probably a dead giveaway.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Curse of the Black Rose Witch

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed and taken interest in this story. In regards to SulliMike23's last two reviews, yes I took a little inspiration from _The Dark Knight Rises_ when coming up with the Pit. I just couldn't resist the imagery. I also snuck in a little _Star Wars_ dialogue in the last chapter when Divine was talking to our three main villains. As for the question about Goodwin, don't worry. He'll show up. But that's for much later in the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 3: Curse of the Black Rose Witch

Everyone in the Pit, from the prisoners to the guards, had turned out to see Aki's debut as an eliminator. The somewhat infamous reputation Aki had gained from supposedly killing her parents at a young age had quickly gotten around. Though Yusei still had a hard time believing that story to be at all true. But despite what Yusei thought, everyone was eager to see Aki fall. Even Spanner had come to watch the duel with Yusei and Tanner, though it had to be with the aid of a wheelchair. Everyone waited eagerly for the duel that was set to begin at any moment.

"I heard the guy this Izayoi girl is facing is Malcolm Ishida." Tanner told Yusei and Spanner.

"You mean the guy they call the speed swordsman?" Spanner asked.

"That's right. He's gotten a rep for finishing his opponents in just one turn." Tanner confirmed.

"Well I hope he can do the same to this eliminator." Spanner replied. "Right Yusei?"

"Uh, yeah. Right." Yusei replied.

"You okay Yusei?" Tanner asked. "You've been pretty quiet since we got here."

"I'm fine." Yusei assured them. "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting day of dueling here in the Pit!" the voice of the anonymous announcer greeted over the intercom. "We're starting things out with a bang today. Our first match is going to be an elimination duel between prisoner number 8761, Malcolm Ishida, and Team Arcadia eliminator Aki Izayoi! Both duelists on your marks! Get set! Duel!"

Yusei watched as Aki's red D-Wheel shot out onto the track first from the circular ramp below. Follwing hot on her heels was Malcolm, a relatively young man with tan skin riding a black and silver D-Wheel. He had on a pair of goggles and his riding helmet was like that of a samurai's.

"Track Field, activate!" Aki called as she placed a card into the consol of her D-Wheel. "Rose Kingdom!"

The inside of the arena completely transformed into a massive garden of red roses that stretched out as far as the eye could see under a vast blue sky. Atop a hill far in the distance was a large red and pink castle with battlements in the shape of rose petals. Yet in the middle of the circular track was still the large pit that was a fifty-foot drop.

"You may have field and first turn advantage, but I shall still be victorious." Malcolm proclaimed as he pulled up along side Aki on her left.

"For my first turn I summon Evil Thorn!" Aki announced as she sped up a little ahead of Malcolm.

Appearing next to Aki was a shriveled-looking green plant with a withered pink flower. Growing out from the stem was a black cigar-shaped seedpod.

"Now I activate Evil Thorn's effect!" Aki announced. "By releasing Evil Thorn I inflict 300 points of damage to my opponent!"

The black seedpod on Evil Thorn swelled up and exploded like a grenade. Shrapnel rained down on the field towards Malcolm. Malcolm was forced to try and weave his D-Wheel through the barrage. As he did, one of the sharp fragments brushed past his face, creating a cut that caused blood to trickle down his face. When it was over, Malcolm's life points had decreased to 3700.

"Did you see that?" a shocked Tanner asked his two companions. "That effect caused real damage!"

"It's the same thing that happened when I duel that girl, Sherry." Spanner pointed out.

"But how is that even possible?" Yusei wondered.

"Hey, you heard what that guy, Divine, said when he introduced his team. Those girls have some kind of psychic power." Tanner pointed out. "I guess it must be true."

"So, the rumors I've heard are indeed the truth!" Malcolm called to Aki out on the track. "You are responsible for the deaths of your parents! And it was the very power you just used that put an end to their lives!"

"I now activate the second effect of Evil Thorn and summon two more Evil Thorns from my deck in Defense Mode!" Aki continued, seeming to pay no attention to Malcolm's words. "Next I set one card and end my turn!"

Malcolm drew his first card. "I will put an end to you here and now! For my first move I summon Legendary Six Samurai-Kageki in Attack Mode!"

Appearing alongside Malcolm on the track was a samurai warrior clad in metallic brown armor with gold lines that were like circuit paths. In each hand he carried a sword. On the samurai's back, connected to his helmet by two metal cables, was a pair of mechanical arms, each carrying its own sword.

"Because Kageki was Normal Summoned, I can now summon another Six Samurai monster through his effect!" Malcolm announced. "So I now call to battle, Legendary Six Samurai-Enishi!"

Appearing next to Kageki on the track was another samurai. This one was masked and wore green armor with gold lines similar to the ones on Kageki's armor. In both hands he held a long sword with a golden edge.

"And now, because I control at least one Six Samurai monster, I summon through his own effect, Legendary Six Samurai-Kizan!" Malcolm announced.

Appearing next to Enishi on the field was a third samurai. This one had long black hair and was clad in dark-grey armor with gold lines like the ones his comrades had on their armor. In his right hand he wielded a single sword.

"With these three samurai on the field, I now activate the Spell, Six Strike-Triple Impact!" Malcolm announced. "Through one of this spell's three effects I now destroy all monsters on my opponent's field!"

In the blink of an eye, all three samurai dashed at Aki and slashed her two Evil Thorns with their swords. The plants were cut to pieces and each piece shattered into bits of gold light.

"Now her field's completely open!" Spanner realized from inside the viewing area.

"Because I have at least one other Six Samurai monster on the field, Kageki gains 1500 ATK points, making his total 1700." Malcolm revealed. "Additionally, Enishi gains 500 extra ATK and DEF points while I have two other Six Samurai monsters on the field with different names, making his ATK 2200. And lastly, with two other Six Samurai monster's on the field, Kizan's ATK rises from 1800 to 2100."

"So that means he has more than enough monsters to finish her off!" Spanner excitedly realized.

"You eliminators are without honor!" Malcolm declared. "You duel only for glory, caring not for who you trample over on your way out of the pit! I suppose in one aspect we are not that different, as we are both dueling for our freedom. But you are far worse! You use your powers to callously destroy those who oppose you! How many other lives have you put to an end through your cursed abilities?"

Aki said nothing in response to Malcolm's question. Her face remained clam, but as they rounded the track Yusei could see pain filling her eyes. And as the two duelists rushed past the window Yusei thought he saw a single tear roll down Aki's cheek.

"You are something that should not be allowed to exist!" Malcolm proclaimed. "And I shall do the world a favor now by putting an end to your life once and for all! Kageki, attack now directly with Four Sword Slash!"

Kageki dashed across the track and slashed Aki with his four blades. The attack caused Aki's D-Wheel to skid a little off course, and her life points dropped down to 2300.

"Kizan, strike now with Swift Sword Slash!" Malcolm commanded.

In the blink of an eye Kizan darted forward and struck Aki in the back with his sword. The attack caused Aki to veer her D-Wheel closer to the pit in the center of the field. Her life points had dropped to a mere 200.

"This ends now!" Malcolm declared. "Enishi, finish her with Golden Sword Slash!"

Enishi charged forward with his long sword brought high in the air. Everything seemed to go before Yusei's eyes in slow motion. He was sure that the force of the attack would cause Aki to drive her cycle into the pit.

"I activate one of the effects of Rose Kingdom!" Aki suddenly announced. "Once per turn I can remove a Plant monster in my Graveyard to negate a direct attack!"

At the last second before Enishi could bring down his sword a cluster of rose-covered vines extended from the side of the track over Aki like a shield. The blade cut the vines in half, causing them to shatter into bits of gold light. Yusei breathed a sigh of relief, though did his best not to show it.

"Your trickery may have saved you this time, but on my next turn you shall not be so lucky!" Malcolm declared. "I end my turn!"

"Damn!" Tanner cursed. "Ishida nearly had her!"

"Those damn eliminators always seem to have a trick up their sleeve, don't they?" Spanner observed.

"Guys, aren't you being a little harsh?" Yusei asked. "She almost died out there."

"What's with you Yusei?" a surprised Tanner asked. "Haven't you even been watching that duel?"

"I'm just saying that we don't really know the whole story with this girl." Yusei replied. "And besides, if we start trying to kill our opponents or rooting for their deaths, what makes us any different from the eliminators?"

"How the hell could you even have sympathy for them?" Spanner shouted. "Izayoi, LeBlanc, they all deserve to die!"

"Spanner." A shocked Yusei responded.

"I don't know if you've forgotten this Yusei, but a lot of us here in the Pit don't deserve to be here." Spanner reminded him. "I was thrown in here because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dueling was my only chance of getting out early! And now because of Izayoi's friend I'm stuck here for five more years!"

Back out on the track, Aki drew her next card. "First I play the Spell card, Seed of Deception and Special Summon Dark Verger from my hand!" Aki announced. Appearing on the field was a small plant sprout with a large eye on each of its two leaves. "Then I tribute Dark Verger to summon Queen Angel of Roses!"

Dark Verger shattered into bits of gold light, and descending from the field was a woman with long curly blonde hair and a pair of wings with red rose petals for feathers. Her face was completely covered by a white mask and she had on an elaborate red and black Victorian-style dress. In her hand she carried a large white ornate sword.

"Next I equip Queen Angel with Rose Shield!" Aki announced. "When Rose Shield is activated, my opponent takes 300 points of damage for every card in my hand!"

Appearing on the Queen Angel's arm was a large round pink metal shield with a red rose-shaped crest on the front. A whirlwind of red rose petals blew from the shield and hit Malcolm, causing his D-Wheel to skid. The blast resulted in his life points being reduced to 3400.

"Queen Angel, attack Kageki!" Aki commanded. "Rose Trimmer!"

Queen Angel flew in and cut Kageki down the middle with her sword. The two halves of the samurai shattered into bits of light and Malcolm's life points fell to 2700.

"Now I activate my trap, Blossom Bombardment!" Aki announced. "When one of my Plant monsters destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to that monster's ATK."

A large cluster of roses that Malcolm dove past suddenly exploded in a flash of flames, causing him to almost drive his D-Wheel off the track. Malcolm managed to recover but his life points had fallen to 1000.

"Damn you, witch!" Malcolm cursed.

"I end my turn!" Aki announced.

Malcolm drew his next card. "From my hand I summon the Tuner, Shien's Squire!"

Appearing on the track next to the two remaining samurai was a small monkey-like creature wearing black armor and a black shell-like helmet with a white band near the rim. In its hand it held a wooden staff with a two-pronged blade on the end, and on its back was a white banner with the seal of the Six Samurai on it.

"Now I tune my level one Shien's Squire into my level four Enishi!" Malcolm announced.

The ape squire flashed orange and changed into a ring of green light. The ring encircled Enishi and samurai turned into four balls of white light.

"Stars of destiny now align! Reveal to us now the path of the warlord!" Malcolm chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come forth! Legendary Six Samurai-Shi En!"

The balls of light in the ring flashed and created an explosion of purple flames. The flames cleared and from them emerged a new samurai in ornate red armor with gold trim. Built into the armor on his back was a pair of purple bat-shaped wings. His eyes were red and in his right hand he carried a sword with a serrated edge.

"Shi En has 2500 ATK, making him a hundred points stronger than your Queen Angel." Malcolm pointed out. "This is the final turn! Shi En, slaughter Queen Angel with Death Flame Slash!"

Shi En slashed his sword in the air and the blade ignited with purple flames. The crimson samurai flew at Queen Angel, but at the last moment the angel raised her shield to block the sword. The shield shattered into bits of light and Queen Angel was left unharmed, but Aki's life points dropped to one hundred.

"What sort of trickery have you used now?" Malcolm demanded to know.

"When a monster equipped with Rose Shield would be destroyed, the shield is destroyed instead." Aki explained.

"Fine then! It seems you've managed to buy yourself one more turn. But mark my words! I will put an end to you, witch!" Malcolm declared. "I end my turn!"

Aki drew her next card. "During my start of my turn, Queen Angel's effect activates and destroys the monster with the lowest ATK on the field!"

A mass of thorn-covered vines suddenly erupted up from the ground and ensnared Kizan. The samurai struggled as the vines pulled him down into the ground.

"Now the other effect of Rose Kingdom activates!" Aki announced. "When a monster is destroyed by the effect of a Plant-type monster, that monster's owner takes damage equal to its ATK!"

Suddenly another rose bush exploded near Malcolm and blew his D-Wheel into the air. The cycle bounced and flipped through the air as Malcolm's life points fell to zero. Before the D-Wheel hit the ground for the final time its rider was thrown off into the wall of the arena. The motorcycle landed and teetered on the edge of the track over the gaping pit. Aki brought her ride to a stop as Malcolm slowly got to his feet holding his right side.

"You monster." Malcolm coldly cursed. "You may have defeated me, but one day you shall know death at the hands of someone else! Everyone now knows what a monster you are and will fight to destroy you!"

Most of the prisoners watching from the viewing areas around the track began to boo Aki from inside. She couldn't hear them through the glass but she didn't have to. It was obvious what they were doing. But her face remained calm as she drove her D-Wheel off the track. Meanwhile, Yusei silently left the viewing area he was in as his two companions joined in taunting Aki.

* * *

Aki walked out to her usual spot to be alone away from Team Arcadia's underground mansion. She was hesitant to go there because the last time she was there she saw Yusei. And after her tense duel only twenty minutes ago she was certain he wasn't going to be there again. After all, why would he want to have anything to do with her now that he knew what a monster she truly was? Yet she did tell Yusei that she would return. Besides, she didn't have anywhere else to go.

When Aki reached the small corridor with the chain link fence she saw that there was no one on the other side. It was as she had expected, yet Aki still felt like she had been kicked in the gut all the same. Aki sank to the floor and buried her face in her knees and began to cry.

"Aki?" a familiar voice called, causing her to look up. There was Yusei standing on the other side of the fence, his eyes filled with concern.

"You came back?" a stunned Aki replied as she got back to her feet and came closer.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Yusei pointed out.

"But why?" Aki asked. "Why would you want to be around me knowing what I am?"

"Because these powers of yours don't matter to me." Yusei answered. "I know the kind of person you really are."

"But you saw what almost did to Malcolm out on the track!" Aki replied. "How can you still look at me the same way?"

"Let me ask you something Aki, can you control your powers?" Yusei inquired.

"No I can't!" Aki told him, almost shouting. "I never have been able to! That's why I never dueled you and the others back at the orphanage. I always tried to avoid that ever since…"

"Ever since your parents died." Yusei finished. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

"…That's right." Aki confirmed after a moment. "One minute my dad and I were having a duel, and the next minute our whole house was on fire. When we tried to get out of the house something knocked me out. And when I woke up… both my parents were dead."

"But it was an accident, right?" Yusei asked. "I mean you couldn't control that power you had, so it's not like you set out to burn down your house or kill your parents. Right?"

"Well… no I didn't." Aki admitted. "But even so, they're both dead because of something I did."

"Aki, I don't pretend to know anything about this power of yours. But you shouldn't keep blaming yourself for something you couldn't control." Yusei told her as he grabbed the fence. "You're not a monster, and no matter what I won't abandon you."

Aki was completely surprised by Yusei's words. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to still be around her, knowing what she was. But at that moment she didn't care. She was just happy that Yusei wasn't abandoning her. Aki brought up her hand to touch Yusei's through the fence.

"Thank you." Aki tearfully replied.

"Don't worry about it." Yusei assured her with a gentle smile. "So this man Divine, has he done anything to help you with controlling your powers?"

"Well he's tried, but it hasn't been going well." Aki answered sadly.

"What do you know about these powers of yours?" Yusei inquired. "How did you even get them?"

"All I know is that they have something to do with this mark on my arm." Aki answered.

With that she took back her hand, removed the black elbow-high glove she was wearing, and rolled down the sleeve of the grey prison uniform shirt she was wearing. There on her right forearm was a red mark in the shape of a claw.

"That sort of looks like the mark Jack had." Yusei realized, quickly recalling the wing-shaped birthmark Jack had.

"That's why I opened up to you guys at the orphanage." Aki explained as she put her glove back on. "I thought that maybe he had the same sort of powers I did. But it looks like it was just a coincidence."

"I wish there was something I could do to help you." Yusei sighed.

"You've already done a lot for me." Aki assured him. "I don't feel as alone as I once did."

"I meant what I said. I'll never abandon you Aki." Yusei repeated.

"From you I can believe that." Aki smiled. "Uh, I should get back before Divine starts wondering where I am."

"Okay. Will I see you again tomorrow?" Yusei asked.

"Of course." Aki agreed. "Until then."

With that, Aki walked off. She glanced back every now and then to see Yusei leaving as well. Aki still couldn't believe that Yusei still saw her in the same way. But she was happy, that she was sure of. It had been a long time since she had felt that way. After a few minutes Aki had returned to the mansion and walked through the front door. Divine was there waiting for her on the other side.

"There you are Aki. I was just coming to go find you for dinner." Divine told her. "A spectacular feast has been prepared in honor of your first victory. Where were you?"

"Oh, nowhere special." Aki replied innocently.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The duel in this chapter was somewhat hard to write. Mainly because I've never used any sort of plant deck like Aki's before. Her deck in this story is a mix between her anime and manga decks. Black Rose Dragon will show up, but in a later chapter. As for her opponent in this chapter, one of the reasons why his deck was a Six Samurai deck I use a Six Samurai deck sometimes when I have the occasional duel. That and I wanted to have Aki duel a character similar to that knight in the early episode of the anime.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Don't Let It Show

**Author's Note:** The title of this chapter is also a song from the Alan Parsons Project album, _I, Robot_. It's of course not required to listen to the song while reading this chapter, but it played a major inspiration for it. Actually that whole ablbum has been a major inspiration behind this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

* * *

Chapter 4: "Don't Let It Show"

Five weeks had gone by since Aki's duel with Malcolm, and since that time she and Yusei continued to meet at the fence every afternoon. These meetings would last for only an hour and during that time they'd mostly talk. Talking was the only thing they could do after all, due to a fence being between them. Yusei would usually do most of the talking and tell Aki about some of the things that happened during his days with Team Satisfaction. Though there were a few of these meetings where Aki would open up a little about her own past. She would talk a little about her childhood back when her parents were still alive, and even a little bit about what happened to her after she was taken from the orphanage. Though she would not go into great detail. That afternoon as their little date was nearing its end, Aki decided to bring up a subject that had been looming over her for a while.

"Yusei… I know you're going to be in an elimination duel soon." Aki sadly reminded him.

"Yeah, it could be any day now." Yusei confirmed. "But don't worry, it's not my first time against an eliminator. I told you about my duel with Jack."

"I know, but you could be up against any eliminator." A worried Aki pointed out. "Even… even me."

"That thought did cross my mind." Yusei admitted. "But even if that does happen, I'm sure things will work out."

"But you've seen my powers in action!" she reminded him. "You could get hurt or… or worse."

"Hey, we don't even know if we're even up against each other yet." Yusei reminded her as he put his hand on the fence. "And even if we do, we'll figure out a way to get through it."

"How?" Aki wondered.

"I don't know." Yusei admitted. "But one thing I am sure of is that if we do end up facing each other is that we'll both have to try our hardest to win. If either of us holds back, someone might suspect there's something going on between us. It could mean trouble if anyone finds out we know each other."

"I just don't want you end up being hurt because of me." Aki told him.

"Don't worry, I'm stronger than you think." Yusei assured her. "It'll be fine Aki, trust me."

"Okay." Aki replied with a small smile as she put up her hand to meet Yusei's. "I better be going before Divine starts to wonder where I am."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Yusei replied.

Yusei stayed behind for a moment and watched Aki walk off. He wished that there was more that he could've done to comfort Aki, but he could only do so much from behind a fence. As soon as Aki was out of sight Yusei turned and left with a sigh.

* * *

Divine walked into the room with three mirrors to contact the Infinity Triad. Apparently they had an urgent matter to speak with him about. Not that Divine really cared what they considered to be urgent. But he had to keep playing along if he wanted to keep his position. Once the door slid shut behind him, Divine kneeled down before the three mirrors.

"What is thy bidding, my masters?" Divine asked. At once all three mirrors flashed to life.

"It has all been arranged, Divine." The young male figure of the triad spoke. "Tomorrow Yusei Fudo shall duel Ms. Izayoi. So make sure she is ready."

"Gladly, my lord." Divine replied.

"You should also know I will be coming personally to view the duel." The young male revealed.

"Is that really necessary?" the large elderly figure asked.

"There are certain things a person needs to see with their own eyes, old man." The young male argued.

"I don't see the harm." The child-like figure of the triad cut in. "After all, you let me work with my own little projects."

"I guess you have a point." The elderly figure admitted.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Divine." The young male told him.

With that, the mirrors went dark. Divine turned on his heel and left the room. He didn't know why a member of the triad had an interest in Aki, but he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Aki reentered the mansion and began to head for the stairs to go up to her room. But when she reached the steps she saw Sherry standing in her way.

"I see you're back from another one of your little trips, Izayoi." Sherry greeted in a rather unpleasant tone. "Just where is it that you've been going every day? It's not like this place has a lot of attractions."

"It's none of your business." Aki told her.

"Oh really?" Sherry responded. "Well maybe I should make it my business then. Just what is this big secret of yours?"

"That's enough Sherry." Misty interrupted as she entered the room. "If Aki doesn't want to tell us what she's been doing in her free time then we shouldn't pry."

"Why are you so interested in where I've been going anyway?" Aki asked Sherry.

"You've been acting a little differently these last few weeks." Sherry answered. "I'm interested in learning about what caused this change in attitude."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aki denied.

"Ah, it seems all three of you are getting along quite well today." Divine interrupted as he walked in. "Aki, I have some news for you. You're going to be in an elimination match tomorrow."

"Oh really?" Aki asked as a very bad feeling came over her. "With who?"

"A prisoner named Yusei Fudo." Divine answered. "I don't suppose you've heard of him."

Aki felt as if she had been struck in the chest. The thing she feared had happened, she was going to be up against Yusei in a duel. But she did her best to remain calm and maintain her expression.

"No, no I haven't heard of him." Aki answered. "Is he any good?"

"Well a certain member of the Infinity Triad seems to think so." Divine replied. "He said he'd be coming here personally to watch the duel. So you better be performing at your best out there tomorrow."

"Okay, no problem." Aki assured him. "Now if you'll all excuse me I'll be up in my room for a while."

Sherry finally stepped aside to allow Aki to go up. Aki walked up calmly, holding back the tears that were beginning to form. In moments she was finally in her room, shutting the door tightly behind her. Aki sunk to the floor as she finally allowed the tears to finally fall. She had no idea what she was going to do, but it was clear that there was no way out. She and Yusei were going to duel, and it was most likely going to cause a lot of damage.

At that moment Aki wished with all her heart that she knew how to control her cursed powers. Those very powers were what caused the deaths of her parents. And now there was a very good chance that they were going to cause Yusei's death as well. Aki was sure she couldn't live with that. It was simply far too much. Someone else she cared about was probably going to die by her hand and she couldn't stop it.

Aki took a deep breath and got to her feet after a moment. She thought back to what Yusei had said to her about what they should do should this situation come up. As much as she hated it, Aki knew he was right. Both of them had to give it there all in the coming duel. If she did anything to give Yusei an easy duel everyone would be onto them. It was what it was. She was an eliminator and Yusei was her next opponent. It was Aki's duty to do her best to defeat Yusei.

Aki went over and slumped facedown onto her bed. She knew that she was going to have a difficult day coming up. And she hoped with all her heart that Yusei would somehow survive it.

* * *

Yusei was lying on the cot in his small cell looking up at the ceiling. He found himself musing about the twisted sense of humor fate seemed to have. Eight years ago when Aki was taken from the orphanage he had vowed to find her once again. That vow was one of the driving forces behind his dueling to get out of the Pit, only for him to find her in the Pit with him. Even more twisted was the fact she had ended up as an eliminator. And only four hours ago one of the guards had informed Yusei that he was going to be up against Aki in tomorrow's duel.

It was all very surreal how things had turned out. He thought back to what he had said to Aki earlier that day at their usual meeting place about not holding back in their duel. But Yusei wasn't really sure if he could follow his own advice. This wasn't some ruthless cold-hearted eliminator he was up against. It was Aki; a girl who he'd harbored a crush for many years ago. And Yusei had to admit that he still did have a crush on her, one that seemed to have grown stronger. It certainly didn't hurt that Aki had grown into a very attractive young woman. And ever since he found out Aki was in the Pit, Yusei found there were times he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Yusei got up to pace around the room. Staring up at the ceiling wasn't helping matters. As he tried to figure out what to do about the situation he had landed in he came up with only three possible options. The first was to throw the match, but he couldn't do that. While defeat to an eliminator was a common event in the Pit, he simply couldn't lose on purpose. It would look suspicious to the guards and the other prisoners. Yusei couldn't do anything that would expose his relationship with Aki.

The other option Yusei thought of was to simply beat Aki in the coming duel. But he couldn't do that either. He would win his freedom, but he would also be leaving Aki behind. Yusei simply couldn't do that. So with both victory and defeat out of the question Yusei knew that there was only one option left. But it was going to be hard to pull off, especially since he would still have to go all out. Still, it was the only way Yusei saw out of his and Aki's current predicament.

With a course of action decided, Yusei stopped pacing around the room and reached into his inside jacket pocket. The item he pulled out was the card that the Skeleton Knight had given him eight years before when Aki was taken from him, Stardust Dragon. Yusei had never used that card once. He didn't feel that using a card given to him by a living skeleton was a very good idea. Yet he held onto the card regardless.

Yusei thought back to when the Skeleton Knight had given him the card and remembered how the knight told him that he'd need power if he wanted to save Aki. He had to admit that the Skeleton Knight was probably right. The way things had turned out he was he couldn't afford to hold anything back. Against Aki he would need Stardust Dragon's power. Yusei slipped the card into his deck and looked up at the clock. It was starting to get fairly late in the evening, and he was going to need his rest for the duel that was about to come. Yusei went back to his cot and closed his eyes. As he attempted to drift off to sleep thoughts of Aki filled his mind once more.

* * *

Well, I think we all know what's coming up the next chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Duel of Thorns

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 5: Duel of Thorns

Yusei worked in the pit area making final adjustments to his D-Wheel. His duel with Aki was in five minutes and he wanted to make sure his ride was in top shape. As Yusei worked he continued to go over his strategy over and over again in his head. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Both Tanner and Spanner arrived as Yusei finished making adjustments.

"So you think you're ready for this duel?" Tanner asked. "You know you're not up against just any opponent."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Yusei replied as he put away his tools.

"You don't seem too happy about this duel." Spanner darkly remarked. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since you seem to be such a big fan of Izayoi."

Yusei said nothing and got on his D-Wheel. After putting on his helmet he revved the red cycle to life and drove past his two friends out to the starting ramp.

* * *

Divine walked to his private room above the track to watch the duel. But upon entering the spacious stadium box he found that there was someone in there waiting for him. That someone was a young man with very pale skin. His left eye was red with a vertical scar under it, while his right eye was covered with a dark-grey metal eyepiece. The young man's outfit consisted of white rode-like clothing over a tight-fitting black and white bodysuit. On his upper torso he wore grey armor with a large ring-like collar and a circular green gemstone on front. Two more pieces of armor adorned his hips and hanging at his right side was an ornate sword with an infinity motif. On his head he wore a white hood with silver lightning bolt-shaped ornaments peaking out from beneath like a pair of horns.

"Ah, Divine." The young man greeted. "I hope you don't mind that I watch the duel with you here from your little private box."

"Not at all." Divine assured him, though inside he was furious. "It is an honor to have you here, Lord Placido."

Placido made himself at home by sitting on the large green couch that was in the center of the room, stretching his arms out over the back of the piece of furniture. Grudgingly, Divine took the small green chair that was next to the couch.

"I trust Ms. Izayoi is prepared for this duel." Placido assumed.

"You needn't worry, my master." Divine assured him. "This Yusei Fudo doesn't stand a chance against her."

"Good." Placido replied. "I want to see him pushed to his limits before he finally meets his defeat."

* * *

Yusei waited silently on the starting ramp for the duel to finally start. It was due to be any minute, but it felt like it was taking an eternity. At last Aki pulled up next to him on her own D-Wheel. The two looked at one another very briefly and said nothing. Yusei found it ironic how the fence normally separating them was gone, yet they were even more cut off.

"Welcome once again ladies and gentlemen to another exciting day of duels here in the pit." The announcer's voice greeted over the intercom. "We have a real exciting match-up for our first duel between prisoner 5341, Yusei Fudo, and eliminator, Aki Izayoi. Both duelists on your marks get set, duel!"

Yusei and Aki took off down the circular ramp and headed up to the track. Yusei knew he had to get onto the track before Aki. If Aki activated her Track Field card his whole strategy would be in jeopardy. The two were neck and neck as they neared the hatch, but at the last second Yusei pulled ahead and got through onto the track.

"Track Field, activate! Junk Town!" Yusei called as he placed the card in the consol of his D-Wheel. In seconds the inside of the arena transformed into a village of junk and scrap under a wide blue sky. "For my first move I summon Junk Armor in Defense Mode!"

Appearing next to Yusei's D-Wheel was a large old bulky grey suit of armor with a pair of small yellow eyes that peered out from inside a pitch-black helmet. Sticking out the top of the helmet was a large screw.

"That ends my turn!" Yusei announced.

"That's it?" Divine asked with a raised eyebrow from up in the skybox. "His first move is a single weak monster with only 1200 DEF points and no effect?"

"Patience Divine. He's obviously building to something." Placido told him.

Aki drew her first card down on the field. "First I summon Phoenixian Seed!"

Appearing on the field by Aki was a large red seed with red-orange leaves sprouting out the top. The front of the seed opened up to reveal a large yellow vertical eye.

"Next I send Phoenixian Seed to the Graveyard to summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!" Aki announced.

In moments a twister of flames enveloped the large seed. The flames soon subsided to reveal a bouquet of large red flowers growing from a single stem arranged in the shape of a bird. The two leaves of the stem resembled a pair of gold-feathered wings.

"Amaryllis, attack Junk Armor!" Aki commanded. "Flame Petal!"

The bird plant flapped its two wing-like leaves and sent forth a wave of flames. The suit of armor was hit by the flames and shattered into bits of light.

"At the end of a battle when Amaryllis attacks, it's destroyed and my opponent takes 800 points of damage!" Aki announced.

The bird-shaped flowers exploded in a burst of crimson flames. Fiery petals rained down onto the field and hit Yusei as he circled the track. Yusei managed to drive through them, but his life points had fallen to 3200.

"I activate the effect of Junk Town!" Yusei announced. "When a Junk Monster is destroyed in battle I can summon it from the Graveyard to the field in Defense Mode!"

A ball of blue light rose out of the pit in the middle of the arena and circled around Yusei's moving D-Wheel. Soon the ball formed into the suit of armor that was destroyed just moments ago.

"I end my turn, and by doing that I remove Phoenixian Seed from my Graveyard to summon Amaryllis back to the field in Defense Mode!" Aki announced. The bird-shaped flowers reappeared on the field in another twister of flames.

Yusei drew his next card. "First I summon Screwturn, the Apprentice Warrior!"

Appearing next to Junk Armor was a small robot with a head shaped like a large upside-down screw. On its torso it wore a black metal poncho, and in its right hand it carried a long narrow screw like a sword.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Double Summon and bring Lefty Driver to the field!" Yusei announced.

Appearing to Junk Armor's left was a small silver humanoid robot in the shape of a girl. She had a large head with short light-green hair, and mounted on her left arm was a large screwdriver.

"Now I tune the level two Screwturn into the level two Junk Armor and level two Lefty Driver for a level six Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Screwturn flashed orange and turned into a pair of rings made of green light. The rings circled around Lefty Driver and Junk armor, changing them into four balls of white light that formed a straight vertical line.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Mighty Warrior!"

The balls of light ignited with a blinding flash, and when the light faded standing in their place was a muscular warrior with light-blue skin and clad in a blue tight-fitting bodysuit with gold circuit paths. His left arm was bare and had two think gold rings on his upper arm and forearm, with an even thicker band around his wrist. On his legs he had on knee-high metal boots with long rocket fins at the knees. The warrior's right arm was mechanical and had a large hand.

"Mighty Warrior, attack Amaryllis with Mighty Knuckle!" Yusei commanded.

Mighty Warrior dashed forward and punched Amaryllis with his mechanical fist. The impact caused the bird-shaped flowers to shatter into bits of gold light.

"When Mighty Warrior destroys a monster in battle, the opponent takes damage equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK!" Yusei revealed.

Suddenly Mighty Warrior's metal fist shot off its arm like a rocket and headed straight for Aki. The fist hit Aki and caused her D-Wheel to fishtail. Aki quickly recovered and straightened her course, but her life points had dropped to 2900.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Aki drew her next card. "First I summon Lonefire Blossom to the field!"

Appearing next to Aki on the trap was a large yellow and brown plant with a thick twisting stem and purple leaves. At the top of the stem was a large round yellow bud with a spike at the top burning with a green spark.

"I tribute Lonefire Blossom to summon a Plant monster from my deck!" Aki announced. "Descend to earth, Queen Angel of Roses!"

Lonefire Blossom erupted into a pillar of green phosphorous flames. In moments the flames subsided and Aki's white-masked angel descended to the field on her red rose petal wings.

"Next I equip Queen Angel with Rose Lance, increasing her ATK to 3200!" Aki announced.

The Queen Angel's sword disappeared, and in its place was a long ornate lance made of a shining pink metal.

"Queen Angel, attack Mighty Warrior!" Aki commanded. "Rose Petal Spiral!"

Queen Angel thrust her lance and sent a twister of red rose petals at Yusei's cyborg warrior. Mighty Warrior shattered into bits of light and the twister plowed through to hit Yusei. Yusei was nearly knocked off the track and his life points fell to 2200.

"When a monster equipped with Rose Lance destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes 200 points of damage times that monster's level!" Aki explained.

The Queen Angel thrust her lance again and sent another petal-filled twister at Yusei. This time Yusei was blown off the track out over the wide pit, causing Aki to gasp with horror. But half way over the pit, Yusei straightened out his D-Wheel and jumped his way over to the other side of the track. The red motorcycle landed with a loud thud and resumed its course. Aki breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, this Yusei Fudo certainly does seem hard to kill." Divine observed from the skybox. "Anyone else hit by that attack would've perished."

"I had a feeling Yusei would survive." Placido smirked. "It'll take more than something like that to break him."

"I activate my Trap, Shock Draw!" Yusei announced down on the field. "This lets me draw a card for every thousand points of damage I've taken this turn!"

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Aki announced after Yusei drew two more cards.

Yusei began his turn. "First I summon Dash Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the track to run alongside Yusei's D-Wheel was a cybernetic armor clad completely in red armor. His feet were a pair of wheels and on each side of its lower torso were two large pointed rocket boosters.

"Next I discard a card from my hand to Special Summon Jackie Jumper!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on the field next to Dash Warrior was a small somewhat humanoid robot wearing a sort of blue overcoat decorated with light-blue arrows. Its feet were a pair of long narrow skis.

"Now since I have the Tuner, Jackie Jumper on the field, I summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from the Graveyard with its own effect!" Yusei announced.

Emerging to run alongside Yusei's two other monsters on the track was a hedgehog-like creature with light-brown fur. Sticking out of its back was a mass of large dark-grey bolts.

"Now I tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level three Dash Warrior and level two Quillbolt Hedgehog for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Jackie Jumper flashed orange and turned into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Yusei's two other monsters, causing them to change into six balls of white light that formed a vertical column.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights that were Yusei's original monsters exploded in a blinding white flash. The light cleared and flying above the pit in the center of the arena was Yusei's magnificent silvery-white dragon. Sparkles of green light fell from the dragon as it hovered in the air.

"What? The records never showed Fudo playing a card like that!" Divine exclaimed from the skybox.

"Don't worry Divine, I was expecting this." Placido smirked. "It seems that Yusei has finally played his trump card."

At the same time down on the track, Yusei's right forearm began to glow with a burning red light shaped like a dragon's head. He looked back at Aki and saw that the claw-shaped mark on her arm was glowing with the same red light through her long black glove. Then as the both completed another lap around the track, Yusei glanced and saw the Skeleton Knight atop his undead steed next to one of the little scrap iron huts that made Junk Town. But it didn't make sense to Yusei for the Skeleton Knight to be there, because the hut and everything else in the town was merely a holographic projection on a wall.

"So you finally used the card I gave you." The Skeleton Knight chuckled to Yusei. Though Yusei felt as if the voice was speaking inside his own head. "Now let's see if you can use its power to save that girl."

With that, the Skeleton Knight and his horse vanished in a cloud of black mist. Yusei shook off the encounter and turned his attention back to the duel.

"I end my turn!" Yusei announced.

"He goes to all that trouble to summon an elaborate monster and doesn't do anything with it?" a confused Divine asked from up in the skybox.

"It's not like Yusei could've used Stardust Dragon to attack." Placido pointed out. "As powerful as it is, Stardust Dragon only has an ATK of 2500. While Queen Angel's ATK is 3200 thanks to its equip card. But then Yusei didn't summon his wretched dragon to attack, only to get it onto the field."

"What do you mean?" Divine asked.

"Queen Angel of Roses, quite the appropriate card for Ms. Izayoi." Placido remarked. "It automatically destroys the weakest monster on the field at the start of her turn, even itself. And Ms. Izayoi can't control it, just like she can't control her powers. It's almost like a mirror."

"I still don't follow, my lord." Divine told him.

"You shall soon see that Queen Angel's effect is also its greatest weakness." Placido explained.

Back down on the track Aki drew her next card. "At the start of my turn, Queen Angel's effect activates and destroys the monster with the lowest ATK on the field!"

"I activate Stardust Dragon's effect!" Yusei announced. "When a card would be destroyed by a card effect, I can sacrifice Stardust Dragon to negate the effect and destroy the card!"

Just as a mass of thorn-covered vines began to rise up out of the pit to snare Stardust Dragon and pull it down into the abyss, the dragon roared and flew full speed at Queen Angel. The two monsters collided and exploded into a mass of stardust and rose-petals that rained down onto the field. The vines that were about to pull in Stardust Dragon shattered into bits of light.

"I activate a Trap, Angel's bond!" Aki announced. "When Queen Angel is destroyed I can Special Summon her twin from the deck! Ascend from the pit, Fallen Angel of Roses!"

Rising up out of the pit in the arena was another female angel wearing a white mask similar to the Queen Angel's. She had long straight black hair with rose-shaped ornaments in the sides, and her wings had black rose petals for feathers. The angel had on a skimpy black leather outfit with a very short pink skirt with knee-high high-heeled boots and elbow-high gloves. In her right hand, the angel held a long whip covered in thorns.

"It seems that Fudo miscalculated." Divine chuckled up from his and Placido's perch. "He has no monsters and only a handful of life points. One attack from the Aki's monster and he'll be finished."

"Fallen Angel, attack Yusei directly!" Aki commanded. "Rose Whip!"

"Since I have no monsters on the field, I summon Junk Defender from my hand in Defense Mode!" Yusei announced.

Appearing in between the Fallen Angel and Yusei's D-Wheel was a robot made up of a white head with a pointed snout and large rust-brown arms, each with half of a circular shield on the forearm. The Fallen Angel's whip struck Junk Defender as it brought together its shield, causing it to shatter into bits of light.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Aki announced.

Suddenly bits of glowing stardust began to come together out over the pit. The glowing dust formed a shape and in a flash of light Stardust Dragon reappeared with a roar.

"What?" Aki exclaimed.

"At the end of a turn when its effect is used, Stardust Dragon returns to the field." Yusei explained.

"This is infuriating!" Divine declared up in the skybox. "Fudo keeps turning the duel around! What's it going to take for him to lose?"

Back on the track, Yusei looked at his hand. He already had one of the cards he needed for his strategy to work. Everything was falling into place. He just needed one more card to make it work. Yusei closed his eyes and drew his next card. When he looked at the card he smirked. The card he drew was a Trap card depicting a futuristic soldier being caught in the explosion of a robot he had just blown up with a cannon. The Trap was just what Yusei needed. All that was left was to make his move and hope that Aki had set the card he thought she did on her last turn.

"For my first move I equip Stardust Dragon with Junk Barrage!" Yusei announced. Stardust Dragon began to glow with a green aura. "Now, Stardust Dragon! Attack Fallen Angel of Roses with Shooting Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon roared and fired a sparkling blast of sound waves at the Fallen Angels. The angel was struck in the chest and shattered into black dust and rose petals. The blow had reduced Aki's life points to 2800.

"Now the effect of Junk Barrage activates and you take half of Fallen Angel's 2400 ATK as damage!" Yusei announced.

A storm of flaming junk and debris rained down from the sky and hit Aki as her D-Wheel rounded the track. Aki drove through the junk and her life points had dropped again to 1600.

"I activate the second effect of Angel's Bond from my Graveyard and remove it to add Queen Angel of Roses back to my hand!" Aki announced.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Aki drew her next card. "I now banish Queen Angel of Roses from my hand and Fallen Angel of Roses from my Graveyard to summon Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel!"

The Queen Angel and Fallen Angel reappeared above the pit and flew high up into the sky. As soon as the two faded from view there was a brilliant flash of white light. Descending from the light was a muscular male angel with a body like a white marble statue. On his head he wore a white hood with a jeweled winged ornament on his forehead, and around his waist he wore long white cloth. The angel had two pairs of wings. The two wings on the right side of his body had black rose petals for feathers and the wings on his left side were covered in red rose petals.

"Rosaria, attack Stardust Dragon with Valhalla Harvest!" Aki commanded.

Rosaria brought his hands forward and fired a massive ball of golden light at Stardust Dragon. The dragon was hit and shattered into bits of stardust. And the resulting blast caused Yusei's life points to drop to 600.

"Now I activate my Trap, Blossom Bombardment!" Aki announced. "When one of my Plant monsters destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to that monsters ATK!"

"I activate my own Trap, Fatal Backlash!" Yusei announced. "When my opponent activates a Spell or Trap card that would inflict 2000 or more points of damage while we both have less than 2000 life points, my opponent takes the same amount of damage!"

Two bushes of flowers appeared next to Yusei and Aki's D-Wheels and exploded like landmines, taking both their life points to zero. With the duel over they both stopped their D-Wheels and the inside of the arena resumed its normal appearance. The strange marks on both Yusei and Aki's arms had also stopped glowing. From inside the viewing areas the two could see the other prisoners booing them. They apparently did not like the result of the duel being a draw.

"Well this is certainly a first for us here in the Pit." The announcer's voice said over the intercom. "Still, a draw isn't a win. Which means Yusei will have to win another ninety-nine duels if he wants another shot at freedom."

"This is unheard of!" Divine declared up in the skybox. "Lord Placido, I apologize deeply for this."

"No need, Divine." Placido assured him as he got up from the couch. "This duel has actually been quite enlightening."

"What do you mean?" Divine asked.

"Let's just say I've gained a certain insight into things." Placido replied as he headed out the door. "Until we speak again."

* * *

Yusei rode his D-Wheel into his stall in the pit area and shut off the engine. As he took off his helmet he breathed a sigh of relief. Needless to say, it had been a very difficult duel. Upon remember the strange mark that had appeared on his arm when he summoned Stardust Dragon, Yusei rolled up his sleeve. His arm was as bare as it had always been. At that moment, Tanner showed up with Spanner.

"Looks like you did the best you could." Tanner remarked, getting Yusei's attention. "Of course a draw is the best anyone's been able to do against an eliminator."

"Sorry if I didn't think you were going to do your best out there, Yusei." Spanner told him. "But I still stand by what I said before. All those eliminators deserve to die."

"I'm gonna go get some rest." Yusei told them both as he walked off. "It's been a long day."

* * *

Aki nervously walked to her usual meeting place with Yusei. She wasn't sure what Yusei was going to think of her after their duel. It was one thing for him to still stand by her after only seeing her powers in action. But Aki was sure that experiencing those powers head on would be too much for even someone like Yusei to handle. When she got to the fence, Yusei was there on the other side waiting for her.

"You made it." Yusei greeted with his usual smile.

"Are you okay?" a worried Aki asked as she came closer.

"I'm fine." Yusei assured her. "I told you I would be, remember?"

"My heart almost stopped when I saw you flying over the pit." Aki told him on the verge of tears. "I didn't think that…"

"It's okay." Yusei assured her as he put his hand to the fence to meet hers.

Aki then completely broke down, putting her head against the fence. At that moment both of them wished that there wasn't fence between them so they could hold one another. But after a few moments Aki finally calmed down.

"Feeling better?" Yusei asked.

"A little." Aki replied. "One of the worst things about this though is that you're still stuck here in the Pit."

"I'm fine with that." Yusei assured her. "In fact that's what I wanted."

"Wait, you mean you were trying to get our duel to a draw?" a surprised Aki asked. "Why Yusei?"

"Because even I won my freedom you'd still be stuck here." Yusei explained. "And I want to find a way for us both to get out."

"I don't think that's possible." Aki told him sadly.

"There has to be a way. And if there is, I'll find it." Yusei declared. "I told you before that I'm not going to abandon you."

"You're a real kind person Yusei." She told him. "I should be going now. Divine isn't too happy about the result of our duel."

"I hope you're not in too much trouble." Yusei replied.

"Actually I'm not in any trouble at all, which is kind of surprising." Aki revealed. "Anyway, I'll see you here tomorrow. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Yusei agreed.

The two of them walked away from the fence to go their separate paths. After Aki turned a corner to go back to the mansion, Placido emerged from the opposite adjoining corridor and walked up to the fence.

"I thought there was something going on between them in that duel." Placido remarked to himself with a sinister smirk. "I had almost forgotten about how love can bloom in even the most dismal situations. But now it seems like I've found the perfect way to break Yusei."

Placido laughed as he drew his sword and slashed in front of the fence. A blue portal appeared in midair and Placido walked through, vanishing once he was fully inside.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was another difficult duel to write. Mainly because I was trying to have it end in a draw, something that doesn't happen very often in Duel Monsters. So I made up a Trap card for Yusei to use in order to make that happen. Also, two of the cards that Aki used, Rose Lance and Angel's Bond, are also cards of my own creation. Anyway, things take a major turn in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Found Out

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad that so many people are liking this story. Last time the question of why Black Rose Dragon has yet to appear was raised. There's a reason why it hasn't shown up yet, but what it is I'm keeping to myself for not. Don't worry though, it'll show up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 6: Found Out

Things had settled down a great deal at Team Arcadia's underground mansion the day after Yusei and Aki's duel. That morning Misty and Sherry were out in the mansion's spacious backyard. Sherry was sitting on the patio reading a book while Misty tended to one of the yard's small gardens. It had so far been a relatively peaceful day for them. But after awhile Sherry sighed heavily and put down her book on the small table by her chair.

"This is getting very old." Sherry complained. "Just when are we going to be up for another duel?"

"Be patient Sherry. It'll happen." Misty assured her.

"Doesn't seem likely with Izayoi around." Sherry pointed out. "After all, she's become Divine's favorite project. And I'm sure the higher ups in this hole want to put her out more because she's a ratings grabber."

"True, but she won't be here forever." Misty reminded her as she put away her gardening tools. "Once she wins a few more duels she'll be released and perhaps be sent to Divine's institute in Neo Domino."

"And we're just supposed to wait that long?" Sherry complained as she threw her arms in the air. "That could take months! I wish Izayoi was out of our hair right now."

"I sympathize with you, Ms. LeBlanc." A voice interrupted. "Perhaps I can provide you with a solution to your current problem."

Misty and Sherry both looked to see Placido standing only a few feet away from them. At his side was a boy who looked to be about ten and had very pale skin. His right eye was green while his left was covered with an eyepiece that looked very much like Placido's. The boy had on a white hood and a long white cloak hung on a wide circular rod around his neck.

"Who the hell are you two?" Sherry demanded to know as she stood up from her chair. "And how did you get in here?"

"You needn't be alarmed." Placido assured her. "I am Placido, and my little friend here is Lucciano. We are two members of the Infinity Triad."

"A child is part of the Infinity Triad?" a surprised Misty asked.

"I'm a lot older than I look." Lucciano chuckled.

"How do we know you two really are from the triad?" Sherry asked suspiciously.

"How else do you explain our presence here?" Placido pointed out.

"Okay then, what do you want from us?" Misty asked.

"We have a little proposition for the two of you." Placido explained. "All you have to do is follow Ms. Izayoi when she goes for her daily afternoon walk, in secret of course, and report what you see to Divine."

"And what do we get out of it?" Sherry demanded to know.

"You would be rid of Ms. Izayoi, for one thing." Placido replied. "Which I believe is what you've been wanting."

"I won't do it!" Misty declared. "I don't care if you are part of the triad. What Aki does on her own time is her own business, and I won't do anything that would take her away from Team Arcadia. This is the best place for Aki right now."

"Really. Then I guess you wouldn't be interested in what really happened to your brother." Lucciano assumed with a wide grin.

"I-I know what happened to him." A somewhat surprised Misty told him. "Toby was beaten to death by a mob who didn't understand his powers."

"Are you sure about that?" Lucciano asked, his grin becoming a little wider. "Did you every see his corpse before they buried him?"

"Well, well no but…" Misty replied.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Sherry asked angrily.

"Oh, just thought your friend might like to know the truth." Lucciano replied innocently.

"We've told you what we want." Placido cut in. "Now we'll let you decide what to do."

With that, Placido and Lucciano turned to walk off. As they left, Placido slashed his sword through the air and created a portal for them to walk through. The blue portal closed behind them after they entered, leaving Misty and Sherry alone in the yard once again.

"What do we do?" Misty wondered.

"I know what I'm doing." Sherry decided. "Whether you're part of it or not is up to you."

* * *

Slowly Sherry and Misty followed after Aki as she walked farther and farther away from the mansion, ducking behind a corner every now and then to avoid detection. So far though, Aki didn't seem to have a clue that she was being followed.

"I'm still not sure about this." Misty whispered.

"It's a little late for you to pull out now." Sherry whispered back. "If you were going to wimp out, why the hell did you agree to come with?"

"Because I need to know for sure if that boy from the triad really does know something about my brother's death." Misty answered.

"Oh please, we don't even know if that kid and his weird friend really are from the triad." Sherry pointed out. "Still, I guess I can't blame you."

As they spoke, Aki turned a corner. Discretely the two followed. Misty and Sherry stopped at the corner and peeked around. What they saw was Aki at the fence meeting with Yusei.

"So that's why Izayoi's been so cheerful lately." Sherry quietly realized. "Wait a minute. That's Yusei Fudo, Izayoi's last opponent. No wonder that duel ended the way it did."

"This really isn't any of our business." Misty declared, going back around the corner.

"Will you get a grip already?" Sherry told her. "You're in way too deep to back out now. What if Divine finds out about this on his own and finds out you knew and didn't tell him? Besides, what if that brat really does know something about what happened to your brother?"

"Let's just get out of here." Misty decided as she stormed off.

"Yeah, we have what we came for anyway." Sherry agreed as she followed.

The two of them walked in silence as they headed back to the mansion. They both stopped as soon as they reached the door. Misty reached for the knob and hesitated.

"Neither of us can back out now." Sherry reminded her. "Both of us have to tell Divine."

"I know." Misty sighed as she finally opened the door. The two of them walked in only a few steps when Divine entered the room.

"Ah, Misty, Sherry. And just where have you lovely ladies been today."

"Divine… we have something to tell you about Aki." Misty began hesitantly.

* * *

Yusei waited by the fence for Aki to show up again. It was their usual time to meet and everything seemed normal. Yet Yusei couldn't help but feel that something was a little off. At times on the walk over that day he felt like he was being followed. But when he turned to look there was always no one there. In the end Yusei decided that he was just imagining things. After all, the prison didn't exactly sanction his and Aki's little dates, so it was no surprise that he'd be worried about getting caught. At last Aki arrived and Yusei's mood lightened.

"Hi there." Aki greeted. "You okay? You looked a little tense there for a second."

"I'm fine." Yusei assured her. "I just felt like I was being watched on the way over here."

"I would go with the feeling if I were you, Mr. Fudo." A voice cut in. A surprised and horrified Yusei and Aki looked and saw Divine on Aki's side of the fence with a pair of guards. "I hope you don't mind me crashing your little party."

"Divine, how…?" Aki began to ask.

"Misty and Sherry followed you yesterday on your last little outing." Divine explained as he approached. "You've been a very bad girl Aki. Fraternizing with a prisoner like this is against the rules you know. I'm afraid you'll have to be punished."

Divine snapped his fingers and the two guards that had accompanied him advanced and grabbed Aki by the arms. Aki struggled to break free but their grip was far too strong.

"Leave her alone!" Yusei demanded. "If you want to punish someone, punish me."

"Oh, you're definitely going to be punished too." Divine assured him.

Before Yusei could respond another guard appeared behind him and struck him in the back with a stun gun. Yusei was knocked out cold and his body slumped up against the fence.

"Yusei!" Aki cried out.

"Bury him down in the super max section." Divine ordered.

The other guard nodded and dragged Yusei's unconscious body away. Aki called after him but her cries were in vein.

"And now, my dear Aki," Divine spoke as he grabbed her by the chin, "I think it's time that you had a much needed reeducation lesson."

A little later in a very large room beneath the mansion filled with pieces of computer equipment, Aki was shackled onto a large steel table that was rotated to a vertical position. Facing her was a device that looked like a sort of large ray gun hanging down from the ceiling. Divine was nearby typing some commands into a control panel. Sherry and Misty were also present in the room as Divine worked. Misty was finding it hard to look at Aki.

"This device is still in the experimental stages, but my scientists back in Neo Domino assure me that it should work." Divine told Aki. "By the time this is finished, you'll be a lot more cooperative."

"So you're going to brainwash me?" Aki asked.

"In a sense." Divine confirmed as he finished typing. "But it might be more accurate to say that I'm going to bring out your full potential. Not only will you be far more loyal to me, you'll also become far more ruthless on the track. By the time I'm through, your powers will be fully unleashed."

"What about Yusei?" Aki asked.

"By the time this is over, you won't even remember who Mr. Fudo is." Divine replied. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Divine then pressed a large red button on the control panel. But the moment he did the entire chamber went completely dark. After a few seconds the room's dim emergency lighting came on.

"What the hell?" Divine cursed.

Almost in answer to Divine's question the electric door of the chamber slid open. The individual who walked in was a very large but elderly man with very pale skin and a long grey beard. A very bushy grey eyebrow obscured his right eye and a dark-grey mask covered his nose and mouth with an infinity symbol on it. He also had on a white hood and cloak.

"Lord Jose!" a surprised Divine identified. "What may I ask is the meaning of this?"

"Ask Placido." Jose replied as he stepped aside.

Placido entered the room with Lucciano at his side. "Seems like we made it just in time."

"I demand to know what's going on." Divine told them, his voice losing its usual calm.

"Your usefulness to us has ended, Divine." Placido told him. "We'll be taking things from here."

"Now see here!" Divine began to complain.

"Ah, Ms. Lola." Placido greeted to Misty, completely ignoring Divine. "I nearly forgot that I owe you for helping in this little operation. Do you wish to know the truth about what happened to your brother?"

"Oh! Let me tell her, let me tell her!" Lucciano eagerly requested.

"Go right ahead." Placido agreed.

"Divine was the one who told you that your brother was beaten to death by a mod that didn't understand his powers, right?" Lucciano asked Misty.

"Well… well yes." Misty confirmed. "That was how we met. Why, what does that have to do with anything?"

"The truth is a mob had nothing to do with killing your brother." Lucciano revealed. "Divine was the one who killed your brother."

"No…. No, that can't be." Misty denied. "Divine is someone who helps people with powers like ours."

"Well that's partly right." Lucciano told her. "Divine is interested in collecting people with psychic abilities, but it's all so he can create and army he can use to bend the world to his will. He came across your brother a few months before you met and saw his psychic potential. So Divine decided to test your brother's abilities and pushed him to his limits. Sad to say, poor Toby didn't survive."

"Now Misty, my dear. Surly you don't believe…" Divine attempted to cut in.

Before Divine could finish though, Placido raised his hand to one of the large computer screens in the room. The screen came to life and showed the image of a boy with brown hair shackled to a metal table similar to the one Aki was on. The boy had a pair of electrodes wired onto his forehead. Misty's eyes widened in recognition and horror as the boy on the screen cried out in pain from electric shocks. After a moment his head slumped forward and the loud continuous beep of a heart monitor could be heard.

_"I'm afraid we pushed him too far sir."_ A man's voice said on the screen.

_"Yes, it seems he wasn't as strong as I thought he'd be."_ Divine's voice agreed on the recording. _"Oh well. More where he came from I suppose."_

_"His file says that he does have a sister."_ The first voice reported. _"She's already being held in one of the special government facilities, and reports say she has very strong post cognitive potential."_

_"Hmm, I suppose I'll have to pay her a visit then."_ The recording of Divine decided. _"It seems that Toby's death wasn't a total lose after all."_

The screen went dead and Misty backed up against the wall as tears streamed down her face. All the while Lucciano was snickering with delight.

"Misty, I can explain." Divine pleaded.

"You…" Misty spoke in a low angry voice. "You BASTARD!"

Misty cried out and suddenly her eyes began to glow with an unearthly green light. A glowing purple lizard-shaped mark appeared on her right forearm. The room went cold and the emergency lights flickered as a large shadow formed on the tall wall behind Misty and took the shape of a lizard. Suddenly the shadow's head pushed out of the wall, revealing the thing to indeed be a black lizard with bulbous green eyes. Before Divine could get away, the thing opened its mouth and shot out its tongue. Lucciano laughed with mad delight as the lizard ate Divine, and all Aki and Sherry could do was watch in absolute horror.

The unholy sounds coming from the lizard's mouth made it clear that Divine was not being swallowed whole. Then after one hideous gulp the lizard pulled its head into the wall and vanished. In seconds the room returned to normal and Misty's eyes and arm stopped glowing.

"Don't you think that was a little extreme?" Jose asked his two companions.

"Oh come on, old man. We all knew that Divine was plotting to overthrow us." Placido pointed out. "Besides, our lord never liked him very much anyway."

"What did I just…?" a confused Misty attempted to ask.

But before she could finish, Lucciano jumped in and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground unconscious. Sherry charged into to try and fight the young member of the triad, but before she could get anywhere near him Jose dashed in with surprising speed and punched her hard in the gut, knocking her out cold.

"We should send these two to our lord." Jose decided. "They might prove quite useful to him."

"Whatever you think best." Placido agreed as he approached Aki. "I have what I need right here."

With a wave of Placido's hand, the mechanical shackles holding Aki to the table unlocked. Hesitantly, Aki got off the table as she rubbed her wrists.

"What is it you want from me?" Aki asked.

"You should be glad, Ms. Izayoi. We just saved you from the unpleasant fate of becoming Divine's plaything." Placido told her.

"What do I have to be happy about?" Aki pointed out. "Divine may be gone, but so is Yusei."

"Ah yes, you do seem to have a tendency to lose those you care about." Placido observed. "Only just today it was Yusei Fudo, and your parents years ago. It must be hard living with the guilt that your powers put an end to their lives. But I'm going to relieve you of that guilt right now by telling you the truth of what really happened."

"What are you talking about?" Aki asked.

"The truth is your powers had nothing to do with your parents' deaths." Placido revealed. "Because I was the one who killed them."

"Wh-what?" a shocked Aki spoke.

"It was nothing personal." Placido continued. "Your father, the senator, was digging a little too deeply into our affairs. So it was decided that they needed to be dealt with. Your powers simply made a convenient cover."

Aki's mind went white as she tried to process what Placido just told her. All those years she was sure she was responsible for killing her parents only to find out she was blameless. Aki flashed back to that day again as she had done hundreds if not thousands of times before. She remembered how she and her father had started a friendly duel, how when she played a card her powers flared up for the first time and set the house on fire. She recalled how they all tried to get out of the house only for a part of the ceiling to fall on in front of them. That was when Aki lost consciousness.

When Aki woke up that day she found her parents both dead, she assumed that the fire had killed them. But what happened before she woke up? What happened in between being knocked out and waking up to find their lifeless bodies on the ground? Aki never thought about that question before. She just assumed that she was the cause and never doubted it. Yet when Aki thought about what Placido had just told her it made sense. She wasn't to blame at all. And there standing before her was her parents' murderer, looking at her with a grin.

Aki's rage flared to life and she cried out. An odd wind seemed to pick up inside the large chamber as large pieces of computer equipment and even the large table Aki had been shackled to suddenly lifted up into the air and began to spin around the room. Lucciano laughed with glee at the chaos that had been caused. With a wave of her arm the debris and equipment flew full speed at the members of the triad, only for it all to shatter to bits upon hitting invisible barriers that had formed around all three of them. Placido waved his hand and long bundles of cable and wire burst out of the walls and coiled around Aki's arms and legs to hold her in place. Aki was hit with an electric shock that caused her to cry out in pain. The remaining bits of rubble that had been flying around the room fell back to earth.

"I thought that news would liven you up." Placido laughed. "That'll make what I plan to do all the more fun."

"What… what are…?" Aki weakly attempted to ask.

"Divine had the right idea with what he was about to do today, but my methods won't be as crud as his." Placido cryptically replied. "By the time I'm done, Yusei Fudo will experience the same despair I suffered many years ago. But it will be by his own hand!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** In case anyone was wondering, I'm revamping the Earthbound Immortals a bit for the purposes of this AU. But that'll be covered in Book Two (why do you think this story is called _5D's Alternative Book 1_?). Anyway, when I came up with the idea for this story I decided right away that I wanted the Three Emperors/Aporia as the villains for this story. There are a few reasons why. One is because I wanted enemies that would torment Yusei and Aki, which isn't exactly the style of the Goodwin Brothers. Plus these guys are pretty much my favorite 5D's villains of all time.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Handless Demon

**Author's Note:** Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed. Just so everyone knows, this chapter gets a bit dark.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 7: Handless Demon

In the deepest level of the Pit, fifty feet below the Turbo Duel track, was the super maximum-security area where the worst kind of criminals were kept. For those prisoners there was no hope of any sort of release other than the release of death. This was where Divine had sent Yusei after he and Aki's relationship had been revealed. As soon as he was taken down he was immediately processed and put in a single dark cell alone. His original prison uniform was replaced with a blue short-sleeved shirt and long blue pants. Yusei had even gotten a new prison number, along with a metal shock collar that was designed to keep the prisoners in line.

It was in that single cell where Yusei spent his first week in the super max level. Every once in a while food would be brought to him on trays through a small slot in the door. He never saw the faces of the guards that brought it. Yusei thought that perhaps this was one of the ultimate punishments of the bottom of the pit, complete solitude. All there was for the prisoners to do was pace around their small cells and think about all they had lost.

Yusei had indeed been thinking about all he had lost during that week. His friends were long gone. He had even been cut off from Tanner and Spanner. But most of all he had lost Aki. Yusei had finally found her after all those years and once again he had been ripped away from her. Yusei hoped that Aki wasn't being punished too severely. He thought almost of nothing except finding a way out of his current situation and getting back to her, though Yusei was having a very hard time figuring out how.

Yusei didn't have anything he could use to pick the lock to the door or the lock on his collar. All Yusei had left aside the clothes on his back was his deck. It even still had his Stardust Dragon card. Yusei actually found it somewhat troubling that he was allowed to keep his deck. Mainly because of a story he heard once about what went on down in the deepest level of the Pit. There were rumors that the prisoners were forced to duel for the entertainment of the viewing public, all be it a shadier part of it. These duels were nothing like the Turbo Duels fought fifty feet above. They were regular duels where the competitors were shocked by their collars each time they took damage. And at times these shocks were lethal enough to kill.

There was no chance of release for those prisoners after winning ninety-nine duels. Though in a dark way Yusei thought that they were dueling for a release by ending their lives. As Yusei thought about those dark duels that day while lying on his steel slab of a bed, the door to his cell suddenly slid open and a guard was standing in the doorway. The dim lighting of the cell and the hallway made it impossible for Yusei to see his face clearly.

"On your feet, prisoner 151." The guard ordered. "And bring your deck."

With no other option, Yusei complied. The guard led Yusei out of the room down the long dark hallway past many other cells. At times as they passed, Yusei could hear the sounds of screams and mad laughter coming from inside the cells. Only a few moments later Yusei was brought to another small dark room at the end of the corridor. There, the guard handed him a duel disk and ordered him to put it on. As soon as Yusei put the disk on his arm he was pushed into another room. This new chamber was actually a large cage inside a vast dark chamber. It didn't take much for Yusei to realize that he had been put inside an arena.

"Welcome, viewers at home, to another thrilling cage match death duel!" a voice announced over the intercom. "Making his debut today in the cage is prisoner 151, Yusei Fudo. And for his first duel he'll be up against one of the most ruthless competitors here in the cage. Presenting once again, the Handless Demon! Prisoner 666, Kiryu Kyosuki!"

Yusei was quite startled when he heard the name of the prisoner he was to be up against. He knew that Kiryu had been sent down to the super max level when Team Satisfaction was arrested two years ago, but had long thought Kiryu had died. Yet walking into the cage through a door on the other side was a young man with pale skin and long silver hair. He had a long yellow line running down the right side of his face and his mouth was twisted into a mad grin. There was no doubt in Yusei's mind that it was Kiryu.

"Well, well. I never thought I'd see you down here, traitor." Kiryu greeted.

"Are you okay, Kiryu?" a concerned Yusei asked.

"Why would you even care after the way you sold me out?" Kiryu replied.

"Let the duel commence!" the announcer declared over the intercom.

Kiryu eagerly drew his first five cards from the deck. Yusei quickly saw that there was no other option but to try and talk to Kiryu during the duel and drew his own hand.

"I'll start this off!" Kiryu declared as he drew his first card. "First I activate the Continuous Spell, Infernity Launcher! And with its effect I discard Infernity Necromancer from my hand. Next I summon Infernity Knight in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Kiryu's side of the ring in a kneeling position was a knight clad completely in black armor. In his left hand the knight held a sword with a wide black blade.

"That ends my turn!" Kiryu announced.

Yusei drew his first card and looked at his hand. There were a few moves Yusei saw he could make, but he was reluctant to do any serious damage to Kiryu. Not when the collars on their neck. Still, Yusei couldn't afford to hold back very much either.

"Since my opponent has a monster on the field, I Special Summon Junk Forward to my hand!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on Yusei's side of the ring was a warrior clad completely in red mechanical armor. Jutting out from his back was a pair of long twin exhaust pipes.

"Next I summon Screwturn, the Apprentice Warrior!" Yusei announced. The screw-headed robot materialized on the field next to Yusei's other monster. "Now I tune the level two Screwturn into the level three Junk Forward for a level five Synchro Summon!"

Screwturn flashed orange and transformed into two rings of green light. The rings circled around Junk Forward and changed the warrior into three white glowing balls.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the coming of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Scarred Warrior!"

The lights inside the rings flashed and cleared to reveal a muscular warrior with tan skin covered in X-shaped scars. He had a cybernetic right eye and the top of his head was covered in bandages. Bits of armor covered the warrior's chest and left shoulder and his right leg was completely mechanical. His entire right arm was completely wrapped in bandages but had a single metal blade protruding from the forearm.

"Scarred Warrior, attack Infernity Knight!" Yusei commanded. "Brave Dagger!"

The battle-scarred fighter charged to the other side of the ring and slashed Kiryu's knight in the chest with the blade on his arm. Infernity Knight shattered into bits of light.

"Since Infernity Knight was destroyed in battle, I can discard two cards to summon him back to the field!" Kiryu announced. His black knight reappeared in the ring.

"I end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Kiryu chuckled madly as he drew his next card. "I'm going to make you suffer, Yusei. First I use the effect of Infernity Launcher to discard Infernity Destroyer from my hand. Then I sacrifice Infernity Knight to summon Infernity Archer!"

The black knight shattered into bits of light and was replaced with another slightly larger knight clad in black and gold armor. The knight's weapon was a large black bow and an immense golden arrow.

"Because I have no cards in my hand, Infernity Archer can attack my opponent directly." Kiryu revealed.

"What? But that monster has 2000 ATK points!" Yusei pointed out.

"I know!" Kiryu told him with a psychotic laugh. "Infernity Archer, attack Yusei with Infernity Crossbow!"

Kiryu's archer raised his bow and fired the massive arrow past Scarred Warrior at Yusei. The arrow struck and Yusei was hit with a powerful shock from his collar as his life points dropped to 2000. Kiryu cackled again as Yusei struggled to remain standing.

"How does it feel, Yusei?" Kiryu asked. "It's what you deserve after the way you betrayed me that day!"

"Kiryu, I never betrayed you." Yusei told him, knowing full well what event Kiryu was referring to. "You don't know the full story about what happened then."

"Bull!" Kiryu shot back. "I saw that security officer patting you on the back as they hulled me into the van! You sold me out to security so you could cut a deal. Of course now it looks like it must not be going well for you since you're down here with me."

"Kiryu…" Yusei tried to respond.

"Save it!" Kiryu shot back. "You can't worm your way this one Yusei. I end my turn!"

Yusei sighed as he drew his next card. He could see that his old friend was beyond reasoning with at the moment. Though Yusei wasn't surprised that Kiryu's sanity was wearing thin. Anyone would be at least a bit insane after spending two years at the bottom of the Pit. Yusei decided that his only choice was to try and knock some sense into Kiryu somehow.

"I equip Scarred Warrior with Junk Barrage!" Yusei announced. The battle-scarred fighter began to glow with a green aura. "You made a pretty big mistake leaving Infernity Archer unprotected, since Scarred Warrior's ATK is a hundred points higher. Scarred Warrior, attack with Brave Dagger!"

Scarred Warrior ran across the field and stabbed Infernity Archer in the chest with his blade. The dark knight shattered and Kiryu received a slight shock from his collar as his life points too a slight plunge to 3900.

"That's all you could manage to do?" Kiryu laughed. "That was pathetic!"

"You're forgetting about the effect of Junk Barrage!" Yusei pointed out. "When a monster equipped with it destroys another monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK!"

On cue, a storm of flaming debris came down from the air and struck Kiryu where he stood, reducing his life points to 2900. Kiryu cackled madly as his collar delivered a more powerful shock.

"That's more like it Yusei." Kiryu declared. "You might just give me a duel that can satisfy me after all. That is, right before you die!"

"Listen to me Kiryu, I didn't sell you out that day!" Yusei insisted. "I was trying to take the blame for you. Security knew that the leader of Team Satisfaction killed that officer, but they didn't know who the leader was. So I gave myself up and told them I was the one they wanted. But somehow they already found out that you were the one they were after. That officer you saw patting me on the shoulder was thanking me because I screwed up and accidentally led them right to you."

"You really expect me to buy that story?" Kiryu scoffed. "Why would you take the fall for me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You've been like an older brother to me." Yusei pointed out. "You even saved me from falling to my death during our fight with the last duel gang."

"I don't buy your act for a second." Kiryu told him. "Now get on with your turn!"

"Fine. I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Kiryu drew his next card and grinned wider. "It seems I've finally drawn the card I've been waiting for. I summon Infernity Beetle in Attack Mode!"

Buzzing onto the field was a large black beetle with two large horns on its head. Once again Kiryu's hand was empty.

"Now I send Infernity Launcher to the Graveyard to summon back Infernity Knight and Infernity Necromancer!" Kiryu announced.

Kiryu's original black knight reappeared on the field next to Infernity Beetle. With it was a skeletal figure in purple robes. On the top of its skull was a mass of green feather-like hair.

"I now tune the level two Infernity Beetle into the level three Infernity Knight and level three infernity Necromancer for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Kiryu announced.

The beetle flashed orange and changed into two glowing green rings that encircled Kiryu's two other monsters. The skeleton and knight became six balls of white light that formed a vertical column inside the rings.

"Shadows of the underworld come together! Open now the gates of the abyss!" Kiryu chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise from the pit, Void Ogre Dragon!"

The lights exploded into a flash of crimson flames that blocked out Kiryu's side of the ring from view. After a few seconds the flames cleared to reveal a winged dragon with large claws and scaled the color of dried blood. Adorning parts of its body were a few round blood-red stones. A terrible feeling came over Yusei upon seeing Kiryu's dragon, and it wasn't simply because the thing had 3000 ATK points. There was something unsettling about the dragon that Yusei couldn't quite place.

"Void Ogre, attack Yusei's monster!" Kiryu commanded. "Hellfire Shot!"

"I activate my face down card, Synchro Deflector!" Yusei announced. "When my opponent attacks while I have a Synchro monster on the field, I can destroy the attacking monster!"

"Nice try, but I activate Void Ogre Dragon's effect!" Kiryu announced. "Since I have no cards in my hand, Void Ogre can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card once per turn!"

The dark dragon's tail shot forward and skewer the large representation of Yusei's trap. Afterwards it opened its mouth and blasted Scarred Warrior with a blast of red flames. Yusei was hit by another shock from his collar as his life points fell to 1100. When Void Ogre Dragon's attack ended though, Scarred Warrior was still standing.

"How is it that your monster's not dead?" Kiryu demanded to know.

"Once per turn… I can prevent Scarred Warrior from being destroyed in battle." Yusei explained as he caught his breath.

"Well good. I was hoping I could drag out your suffering a bit longer." Kiryu chuckled. "I end my turn!"

Yusei drew his next card. He knew he needed to end the duel quickly, yet he was still hesitant. Yusei knew what move to make, but he was afraid that the shock would be too much for Kiryu's body to handle. Still, Yusei could somehow tell that Kiryu's dragon was causing his insanity to go further. He had no choice but to end the duel with this turn.

"I discard Lefty Driver to Special Summon the Tuner monster, Jackie Jumper!" Yusei announced. The ski robot materialized on the field. "Now I summon the Tuner, Righty Diver!"

Materializing next to Yusei's other two monsters was a small robot that looked very similar to Lefty Driver. The only differences were that Righty Driver's hair was longer and her large screwdriver implement was mounted on her right arm instead of her left.

"When Righty Driver is summoned, I can Special Lefty Driver from the Graveyard!" Yusei announced. The other screwdriver robot appeared on the field. "I now tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level five Scarred Warrior for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Jackie Jumper transformed into three rings of green light that quickly encircled Yusei's battle-scared fighter. Soon after, Scarred Warrior became five perfectly aligned balls of white light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights flashed and Yusei's silvery-white dragon roared onto the field, showering the inside of the cage with stardust. The two dragons glared at one another and snarled.

"Big deal. So you summoned a flashy monster." Kiryu scoffed. "Your dragon may look pretty, but its no match for Void Ogre."

"I'm not done yet!" Yusei told him. "Since Lefty Driver was summoned by Righty Driver's effect, her level was increased from two to three. So now I tune the level one Righty Driver into the level three Lefty Driver for a level four Synchro Summon!"

Righty Driver changed into a single green ring of light and encircled Lefty Driver. Lefty Driver in turn changed into three balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of a fiery weapon! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Ignite! Armory Arm!"

The lights flashed and changed into a large mechanical gauntlet with red claws. On the back of the glove was a large black piece of armor.

"Next I equip Armory Arm to Stardust Dragon, increasing its ATK by 1000!" Yusei announced.

Stardust Dragon extended its right arm into the back of the gauntlet. Armory Arm clamped down to fit perfectly onto the dragon's forearm.

"Stardust Dragon, attack Void Ogre Dragon!" Yusei commanded. "Shooting Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon reared back its head and blasted Void Ogre with a sparkling stream of sound waves. The dark dragon shattered to bits as Kiryu received another shock, his life points dropping to 2400.

"Now the effect of Armory Arm activates!" Yusei announced. "When a monster equipped with it destroys another monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!"

Stardust Dragon thrust its gauntlet arm forward and blasted Kiryu with a wave of red flames. Kiryu cried out as he received a fatal shock and his life points dropped to zero. With the duel over, Stardust Dragon vanished and Kiryu fell to the floor unconscious. Just as Yusei was about to run over to Kiryu's side, a cold grey mist suddenly enveloped the cage. The mist cleared and standing in the middle of the cage was the Skeleton Knight, lacking his undead steed. The knight turned to look back at Yusei.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to let your friend die just yet." The Skeleton Knight assured Yusei. "He might still prove useful later on."

The Skeleton Knight raised his right hand and hit Kiryu in the chest with a ball of purple light. Kiryu took a sharp breath and slowly regained consciousness.

"What did you do to him?" Yusei asked.

"I only restarted his heart." The Skeleton Knight explained. "Why don't you go over and speak to him? I'm sure you both have some catching up to do."

Yusei took the Skeleton Knight's suggestion and rushed over to Kiryu's side. Kiryu fully awakened as Yusei help set him against the wall of the cage.

"Yusei?" Kiryu asked weakly.

"Are you okay?" a concerned Yusei asked.

"I've been better." Kiryu chuckled darkly. "Did we just have a duel in here?"

"You don't remember?" Yusei asked.

"Only parts." Kiryu replied. "But I do remember what you said about you trying to take the fall for me. You've always been that kind of guy. Always willing to sacrifice yourself for others."

"So you actually believe me?" Yusei asked.

"Looking at it now I do." Kiryu confirmed. "Sorry 'bout how I acted."

"I guess I don't blame you after being cooped up down here for so long." Yusei replied. "Though there is something I want to know. Where did you get that dragon card?"

"Ask him." Kiryu answered as he pointed up at the Skeleton Knight.

"Hello Kiryu. It's been awhile." The Skeleton Knight greeted.

"_You_ gave Kiryu that card?" Yusei asked the knight.

"It was a few weeks after he came to this place." The Skeleton Knight confirmed. "Seems it was a little overwhelming for him though. Of course I suppose this pit hasn't done much for his sanity. But it seems you've done a good job of restoring it."

"Why did you give Kiryu that card?" Yusei demanded to know.

"One day I may tell you." The Skeleton Knight chuckled. "For now I will be taking my leave."

Another thick cold mist rolled into the cage and the Skeleton Knight was gone. Everything was as it was before. Just then both Yusei and Kiryu were knocked out by a shock from their collars.

* * *

Yusei awoke back in his cell on his steel slab of a bed. His deck was safely by his right hand. He wasn't sure how much time had past. But then it seemed nearly impossible to keep track of the days at the bottom of the Pit. With nothing else to do, Yusei pulled out his Stardust Dragon card and began to think about what happened with Kiryu and the Skeleton Knight. He wondered just who and what the Skeleton Knight was and why he as giving out those cards.

Yusei also wondered about the cards themselves. He never remembered suffering any ill effects from using Stardust Dragon, yet Kiryu's Void Ogre Dragon had seemed to drive him over the edge. Yet Yusei could also tell that there was a distinct difference between the two dragons. Though he couldn't quite place just what it was. Tired, Yusei decided to put the mystery aside for awhile and get some rest.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was another fairly challenging duel to write. Though not as challenging as the last duel. The problem I was having was with how to get it started, since it seems like Infernity monsters seem to take a bit to get going.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. The Hand of Placido

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Hand of Placido

As time went on after his duel with Kiryu, Yusei was finding it harder to keep track of time in his cell at the bottom of the pit. He did not think it had been any longer than a day, but he couldn't be sure. One thing Yusei was starting to become sure of though was that there didn't seem to be any way out of his current situation. He had no tools to work with, or even anything to make tools with. Yusei had never been one to simply accept fate, but even he had to admit that things were looking hopeless.

"Why so glum?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke. Yusei shot up on his hard slab of a bed to see the Skeleton Knight standing before him. "Don't tell me you've lost that fighting spirit of yours already."

"What are you doing here?" Yusei asked as he stood up.

The Skeleton Knight waved his hand and suddenly the shock collar around Yusei's neck fell to the floor. "I think that should be obvious. I've come to help you get out of here."

"Why are you so interested in helping me?" Yusei inquired with a suspicious look.

"My reasons are my own." The Skeleton Knight replied as he turned and opened the cell door with a wave of his hand. "Now come. I believe you still have a girl to save."

"Wait!" Yusei told the undead knight as he went through the doorway. "I'm not leaving here without Kiryu."

"I didn't think you would." The Skeleton Knight chuckled. "Follow me. I know right where he is."

Yusei followed the knight out of his cell down the long corridor. Before long they came to another cell that the Skeleton Knight opened with his supernatural powers. Inside, Kiryu was sitting on the floor against the wall with a defeated expression on his face. With another wave of the Skeleton Knight's hand, Kiryu's collar fell off his neck to the ground.

"Kiryu." Yusei called as he went into the cell.

"What the hell's going on?" Kiryu asked.

"We're getting out of here. C'mon." Yusei explained.

"You go on without me Yusei." Kiryu told him. "Unlike you, I deserve to be here."

"That's not true." Yusei argued. "You may have made a mistake once, but nobody deserves this kind of punishment."

"You don't know about some of the duels I've had since coming here." Kiryu pointed out. "I killed people in that ring. I even almost killed you."

"That wasn't your fault. You didn't have a choice. Plus that card you had was making you crazy somehow." Yusei reminded him. "Look, you can feel sorry for yourself later. Right now I need your help to save Aki."

"Aki, as in Aki Izayoi? That girl you had a crush on?" Kiryu asked. "She's here too?"

"Yeah, on the middle level." Yusei confirmed. "It's a long story, but right now I have to save here and I don't think I can do it alone. And I certainly don't trust our boney friend over there."

"…Okay, I guess helping you is the least I can do." Kiryu relented as he finally got to his feet and picked up his deck. "Let's get out of here."

With that, the Skeleton Knight led the two out of the cell and further down the corridor. After a few turns they reached the elevator that would take them up to the middle level of the pit. With another wave of the Skeleton Knight's hand they were inside the elevator and heading up.

"So where is Aki?' Kiryu asked as the elevator finally stopped and the door opened.

"She in a special area of the prison." Yusei answered as he rushed out. "And at this point we've got no choice but to try and bust her out. C'mon!"

"Oh Kiryu, a moment please?" the Skeleton Knight requested just as Kiryu was about to follow after Yusei.

"What do you want?" Kiryu asked.

In answer to his question, the Skeleton Knight threw him a card. Kiryu caught the card and looked at it. The card was another Synchro Monster, a dragon. The dragon was mainly black and had purple wings on its arms. Its body was covered almost completely in eyes.

"Hundred Eyes Dragon?" Kiryu read as he looked at the name of the card.

"That card should be a little easier for you to control than Void Ogre." The Skeleton Knight explained. "Though now that Yusei has helped you regain a bit of your sanity, you should be able to handle both cards quite well.

"Just why are you giving me these cards?" Kiryu asked.

"Another time, Kiryu." The Skeleton Knight chuckled as the elevator doors shut.

Kiryu looked again at the card and contemplated throwing it away. Yet for some strange reason he decided against it. After putting the card with his deck, Kiryu went after Yusei. And it did not take long for Kiryu to catch up to him.

"So what's the plan?" Kiryu asked as they ran down the corridor.

"The special area of the prison is easy enough to bust into." Yusei explained. "We just have to stop and get some tools first."

"What do we do once we finally get to Aki?" Kiryu asked.

"Haven't thought that far yet actually." Yusei admitted.

"So you're pretty much just making this up as you go." Kiryu realized.

"Pretty much." Yusei confirmed.

Just as Yusei and Kiryu turned another corner, a bright blue light flashed in front of them and took the form of Placido. "Yusei Fudo. At last we finally meet. A pity it is not face-to-face though. The image before you is merely a hologram being projected from another location."

"Who are you?" Yusei demanded to know.

"My name is Placido, and I am a member of the Infinity Triad." The holographic form explained. "I didn't expect you to break out of the super max level on your own, or for you to bring a friend along. But seeing how everything is already prepared, it doesn't really matter."

"Just what is it that you want?" Yusei asked.

"I have a proposition for you." Placido replied. "If you win a special Turbo Duel that I have arranged, you and even your friend there may leave the Pit and regain your freedom."

"What about Aki? Will you let her go too?" Yusei asked.

"You mean Ms. Izayoi? Perhaps." Placido grinned. "But that all depends upon if you can win the duel or not. And of course if you choose to decline my offer, I can just bury you back in the super max level."

"I guess you're not giving me much of a choice." Yusei agreed. "But I do have one question. Are you going to be my opponent?"

"While I would take great pleasure in dueling you myself, I've already arranged for a special opponent." Placido replied. "It's someone who's more or less become my right hand in these matters. Now then, if you and your friend will make your way to the pit area, you'll find that your D-Wheel is waiting for you. There should be one for your friend as well. He can't help you in the duel of course, but he can at the very least follow along on the track."

With that, Placido's hologram vanished. Yusei and Kiryu made there way to the pit area. They found it strange that there were no guards or other prisoners to get in their way. Though when they considered that they were dealing with the Infinity Triad, the group that controlled all of Satlellite, neither of them was really surprised. It wasn't long before they finally reached the pits and Yusei found his red D-Wheel where it normally was. Kiryu meanwhile picked out a black D-Wheel to ride. The two of them started their cycles up and went out to the starting ramp.

"So who do you think this special opponent is?" Kiryu wondered.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon." Yusei replied.

As if on cue, a third rider on a white and silver D-Wheel moved onto the starting ram next to Yusei. Yusei was completely stunned to see that it was Aki. She had on a skin-tight white and black riding suit with blue circuit paths running along it, along with a white and black helmet with a green visor over her eyes. Right away Yusei noticed the completely emotionless expression on Aki's face.

"Aki, are you okay? What are you doing here?" Yusei asked. Aki said nothing. "What's wrong Aki? Can't you hear me?"

_"Oh, she can hear you just fine."_ Placido's voice assured him. Yusei looked to see the triad member's face on the video screen of his D-Wheel consol. _"It's just that she hasn't been programmed to respond to you unless you're in a duel."_

"What do you mean programmed?" Yusei demanded to know.

_"While you were down at the bottom of the Pit I put Ms. Izayoi through a little… conditioning."_ Placido explained.

"So you brainwashed her?" Yusei realized.

_"That is one way to put it."_ Placido confirmed. _"She will act as my proxy in this duel. My avatar, if you will. I may consider releasing her from my control if you win, but that is a pretty big if."_

"What if I refuse to duel?" Yusei asked.

_"The not only will you and your friend be buried back in the super max level, but I'll simply order Ms. Izayoi to kill herself."_ Placido grinned. _"And she will do it without giving a second thought. The choice is yours."_

"…Fine then." Yusei grudgingly agreed as he gritted his teeth. "Let's just get on with this!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** In case anyone is wondering, Hundred Eyes Dragon is being depicted as a normal Synchro monster in this AU, rather than one of those negative level Dark Synchro monsters from the anime. But that will probably be covered more in Book 2. In the meantime, we're finally nearing the end of the prison arc. So stay tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	10. Garden of Broken Dreams

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 9: Garden of Broken Dreams

Placido sat on the couch up in Divine's old skybox eagerly waiting for the right moment to start Yusei and Aki's duel. He was greatly pleased that everything was all going according to his plan. The one thing he didn't anticipate was Yusei breaking out of the super max level on his own, but it didn't matter. Everything had already been set. As Placido waited, Lucciano and Jose entered the room. Lucciano took a seat on the green chair next to the couch while Jose remained standing behind Placido was seated.

"Hope you don't mind us coming to watch." Lucciano greeted.

"Not at all." Placido replied. "I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy this show."

"So are you really going to release the Izayoi girl if Fudo wins?" Lucciano asked.

"Of course not." Placido chuckled. "If Yusei does by some miracle actually manage to win, Ms. Izayoi will parish. But of course he doesn't need to know that."

"How cruel of you." Jose remarked. "You set him up for despair by giving him hope. But then there can be no despair without hope, as we have all learned well over the years."

"Okay then, so if Izayoi really is going to die if she loses, than does that mean you're not going to release Fudo either if he actually manages to win?" Lucciano inquired.

"Oh, I'll let him and his little friend go." Placido answered. "But Yusei will leave this place a broken man. After all, what is freedom worth if you don't have the one you love to share it with?"

"So just when are you going to start this duel?" Jose asked.

"I might as well begin it now." Placido replied. "I wanted Yusei to stew a little before the duel. The anticipation of such an event itself can be agonizing. But I suppose he's waited long enough."

* * *

Yusei continued to wait down on the starting ram with Kiryu and a brainwashed Aki. He had no idea why Placido was waiting so long to begin the duel, but the waiting was starting to get to him a bit. All Yusei wanted to do was get the thing over with, save Aki, and get out of the Pit. After a moment he took a deep breath to calm himself. Yusei knew that if he was going to have any chance he had to remain focused. At long last, the hatch to the track opened up.

"The time has come!" Placido's voice announced over the intercom. "Both duelists on your marks. Get set. Duel!"

Just as Yusei revved the engine of his red D-Wheel to life, Aki zoomed up onto the track at an unbelievable speed. Never before had Yusei seen a D-Wheel go so fast. At least not down in the Pit.

"So much for you getting the first turn." Kiryu remarked.

"C'mon. Let's get out there!" Yusei told him before zooming out onto the track. As soon as he and Kiryu made it onto the track, the hatch closed behind them.

"Track Field, activate." Aki mechanically announced. "Garden of Broken Dreams."

In an instant the inside of the arena completely transformed. The pit was still in the center of the field like always, but above the track was a dismal grey overcast sky. They were in a large modern-looking city, but one that was completely ruined. All around were tall building that looked as if they had been bombarded by some sort of large cannon or had simply toppled over all together. On the ground in the surrounding area were several old broken abandoned cars and even broken D-Wheels. Yusei could even see human skeletons in a few spots. Growing on almost everything in this ruined city were odd-looking black vines with strange black roses.

"What kind of field is this?" Kiryu wondered.

"While Garden of Broken Dreams is active on the field, neither player can summon Synchro Monsters from their Extra Decks." Aki explained. "But as I do not have Syncrho monsters, this effect does not concern me. For my first move I summon Synthetic Rose Witch in Defense Mode and end my turn."

Materializing alongside Aki on the track was a woman with pale blue skin and long straight blue hair. Her eyes were also blue and she had on a skin-tight black bodysuit that had electric-blue circuit paths running throughout it. Growing out of her shoulders were two roses with blue petals. Yusei drew his next card, and as soon as he did Stardust Dragon appeared on the field inside a large glass box almost like a coffin. Suddenly black vines shot up from the ground and pulled Stardust Dragon under. A moment later, and odd black rose with yellow eyes on the two leaves on its stem appeared alongside Yusei as he circled the track.

"What just happened?" Yusei asked.

"At the start of their turns, both players must send a random Synchro monster from their Extra Deck to the Graveyard." Aki explained. "Each time a Synchro monster is sent to the Graveyard by this effect, a Coffin Flower token is summoned to that player's field in Defense Mode."

Yusei did not like this development one bit. It was bad enough that his ability to Synchro Summon had been sealed, but he really didn't like that his Synchro monsters would also be sent to the Graveyard. And while Yusei had no idea what the purpose of these token monsters was, but he was sure no good would come of them. Yusei decided to deal with the problem later though and focus on getting through to Aki.

"I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!" Yusei announced. The armored scrap warrior appeared on the field. "Junk Warrior, attack Synthetic Rose Witch with Blade Slash!"

Junk Blader charged forward and cut Synthetic Rose Witch in half with a horizontal slash of his sword. The pieces of the witch shattered into bits of gold light.

"When Synthetic Rose Witch is destroyed in battle, the monster that attacked it is destroyed, and I am allowed to send Queen Angel of Roses to the Graveyard." Aki announced. "Furthermore, when this effect activates while Garden of Broken Dreams is active, another Coffin Flower token is summoned to my opponent's side of the field in Defense Mode."

Junk Blader exploded in a flash of red flames. A moment later another strange looking black rose materialized next to Yusei.

"Aki, why don't we stop this right now?" Yusei pleaded. "Neither of us has to do this!"

"Proceed with your turn." Aki coldly told him.

Yusei gritted his teeth. He could see that getting through to Aki was going to be as hard as he was afraid it would be.

"Fine. I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

"At the end of each player's turn while Garden of Broken Dreams is on the field, each player must send cards from the top of their deck to the Graveyard equal to the number of Coffin Flower Tokens they have." Aki announced. "As you currently control two tokens, you must send two cards from the top of your deck to the Graveyard."

Automatically, two cards popped out of the top of Yusei's deck holder. At last, Yusei had figured out the kind of strategy Placido was having Aki use. It wasn't just his Synchro monsters Aki was going after it was his whole deck. And Yusei knew that once he was unable to draw any cards, he'd be finished. Reluctantly, Yusei placed the two cards into the Graveyard slot on the consol of his D-Wheel.

Aki drew her next card. "I now banish Queen Angel of Roses from my Graveyard and Fallen Angel of Roses from my hand to summon Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel."

Aki's two rose angels appeared and ascended high into the sky, quickly fading out of view. An instant later there was a blinding flash of white light that momentarily brightened the sky of the grey ruined city. The light faded and the four-winged white angel descended from the clouds.

"I now activate the Spell card, Matrix Fusion." Aki announced. The large Spell card that appeared by Aki depicted a circuit board with a glowing blue-green infinity symbol on it. "With this card, I fuse Rosaria with Meklord Emperor Wisel from my deck to Fusion Summon Meklord Avatar-Despair Angel Rosaria."

The Spell card Aki played shot a beam of blue-green light up at Rosaria, causing a startling transformation to the angel. His chest became metallic, though still white in color, and had a black infinity-shaped window showing a glowing blue-green sphere inside. A white almost shield-like metal gauntlet covered his left forearm, while his right forearm became covered in white armor with a black jagged blade jutting out from the wrist like a sword. Rosaria's face became like a metal mask with a rictus grin. Yusei felt that the face looked a bit like Placido's face, only without the eyepiece. The ornament on Rosaria's headdress had changed as well, becoming a large green gem framed by a pair of silver lightning bolt-shaped horns.

"I now activate Rosaria's effect." Aki announced. "By targeting one Synchro monster in my opponent's Graveyard I can equip it to Rosaria. And the monster I target is Stardust Dragon."

Rosaria's chest opened up and suddenly launched a mass of glowing blue-green thorn-covered vines into the ground. In moments the vines pulled Stardust Dragon out of the ground. The silver-white dragon roared and struggled to break free of the energy vines. But Stardust's struggling proved to be in vein as the dragon was turned into energy and sucked into Rosaria's chest.

"Due to being equipped with Stardust Dragon, Rosaria's ATK points increase from 2900 to 5400." Aki explained. "Next I play the Continuous Spell, Despair Machine Omega."

Appearing by Aki on the track was a large white box-shaped machine with rounded corners. At its base were four stubby black insect-like legs. Running half way up the device's midsection was a thin black stripe that was broken in the front by a large round red mechanical eye.

"I now set one card of the field and end my turn." Aki announced. "And with the end of my turn comes the activation of Rosaria's effect, Agony Matrix. While equipped with a Synchro monster, Rosaria does damage to the opponent equal to the level of the monster equipped to it, times a hundred points."

Rosaria shot a green electrical beam from the large gem on his headdress and hit Yusei in the back. Yusei cried out in pain from the blast, as his life points dropped to 3200. Yusei's vision blurred and he wobbled on his D-Wheel. Never before had he felt such intense pain. It had felt as if his whole body was on fire.

"Now the effect of Despair Machine Omega activates." Aki announced. "Each time my opponent takes damage, Despair Machine Omega increases my opponent's life points by a thousand. But also forces him to send two cards from the top of his deck to the Graveyard."

A red beam shot out from the eye of the white box Aki had placed on the field and hit Yusei. Yusei's life points rose up to 4200, yet at the same time two more cards popped out from the top of his deck holder. Almost mechanically, Yusei placed the cards into his Graveyard.

"Placido, you screwed up programming Izayoi!" Lucciano complained up in the skybox. "Why'd you have her play a card that would increase Fudo's life points?"

"Life points aren't going to be the thing that decides the outcome of this duel." Placido informed him.

"I don't get it." Lucciano replied.

"I do." Jose cut in. "While I still do not quite approve of this plan of yours, Placido, I must admit that the strategy you're having your pawn use is ingenious in its cruelty."

"I still don't get it." Lucciano told them.

"It's very simple. Despair Machine Omega may help Yusei make back the life points he loses when he takes damage, but it also forces him to send more of his deck to the Graveyard." Placido explained. "At the same time, Garden of Broken Dreams also forces him to send even more cards from his deck to the Graveyard."

"Oh, I get it now." Lucciano laughed. "You're trying to draw out this duel so that Fudo suffers."

"That's right." Placido confirmed. "And only when all the cards in his deck go to the grave will his suffering finally end."

"Yusei, are you okay?" a concerned Kiryu asked down on the track.

"Yeah, I think so." Yusei breathlessly replied.

Yusei drew his next card with a trembling hand. As soon as he did, Lightning Warrior appeared incased inside a glass coffin and was pulled into the ground by vines. An instant later another Cioffin Flower appeared by him as he circled the track. Yusei looked at his hand. I had become clear that I he was going to have any chance at all of getting through to Aki, he would have to get rid of Rosaria first. And he was glad to see that he had drawn just the card that could help him turn everything around.

"For my first move I summon Fortress Warrior!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on the track was a very large almost humanoid stone warrior with red eyes, four arms, and four legs. On its back it carried a large landing pad for a helicopter with windows all around the sides.

"Now since I Normal Summoned a monster, I also Special Summon Turbo Booster from my hand!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on the field next to Fortress Warrior was a primarily yellow robot with green eyes. The robot hovered in the air and its arms were a pair of launch pads.

"I attack Rosaria with Fortress Warrior!" Yusei announced.

"There is no point to that maneuver." Aki coldly told him. "Rosaria's ATK is far above that of Fortress Warrior. Such a move will only result in your own defeat."

"That's where you're wrong. Not only is Fortress Warrior not destroyed in battle once per turn, but I take no battle damage." Yusei explained. "Not only that, but when a monster I have fails to destroy a monster in battle, I can tribute Turbo Booster to destroy it!"

Fortress Warrior got onto Turbo Booster's launch pad arms and took aim at Rosaria in the air. The yellow robot exploded, hurling Fortress Warrior up at the mechanical angel. The stone warrior impacted and created a large explosion before dropping back down to the field. But when the smoke cleared, Rosaria was still hovering in the air above the pit.

"What? Why is Rosaria still on the field?" a shocked Kiryu asked.

"When Rosaria would be destroyed, I can destroy the monster equipped to it instead." Aki explained.

"I was hoping for something like that." Yusei smirked. "I now activate my Trap, Graceful Revival! Using this card, I can summon a level two monster from the Graveyard. And the monster I choose is one of the cards sent to the Graveyard by Despair Machine Omega's effect. I summon Screwturn, the Apprentice Warrior!"

A portal of white light opened up on the track and a pair of small fairies lifted the screw headed machine out of the hole. The hole and the fairies vanished and Screwturn took his place by Yusei's monsters.

"It is useless to bring back such a monster." Aki told him. "You are unable to perform a Synchro Summon due to Garden of Broken Dreams."

"That's where you're wrong." Yusei told her. "You said neither of us can summon Synchro monsters from the Extra Deck. But that doesn't mean we can't summon Synchro monsters from the Graveyard."

"What do you mean?" Aki asked.

"I now activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Synchro Resurrection!" Yusei announced. The Spell card that appeared on the field had an illustration showing a ghostly version of Scarred Warrior ascending from a grave. "Using a Tuner and non-Tuner monster I have on the field, I can Synchro Summon a monster from my Graveyard. So I tune the level two Screwturn into the level two Fortress Warrior and two level two Coffin Flower token for a level eight Synchro Resurrection!"

Screwturn flashed orange and changes into two rings of green light that encircled Fortress Warrior and two of the odd flowers that had grown on his field. The three monsters inside changed into six balls of white light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights ignited with a blinding flash of white light that nearly washed out the entire field. The light cleared and Stardust dragon roared onto the field, showering the track with stardust with every flap of its magnificent wings.

"It was pointless to summon Stardust Dragon to the field." Aki coldly told Yusei. "Rosaria not only negates the effects of all Synchro monsters on the field, but Stardust Dragon's ATK is four-hundred points lower than Rosaria's."

"Not for long!" Yusei told her. "I now activate another Quick-Play Spell from my hand, Battle Tuned. By removing Screwturn from the Graveyard, I can add his five-hundred ATK points to Stardust's until the end of the turn!"

A ghostly version of Screwturn appeared and flew up into Stardust Dragon. Stardust roared again as his ATK rose to 3000.

"Stardust Dragon, attack Rosaria!" Yusei commanded. "Shooting Sonic!"

"I activate a Trap, Negate Attack." Aki announced. "This card not only stops your monster's attack, but ends the Battle Phase as well."

Stardust Dragon reared back its head and fired a sparkling blast of sound waves at Rosaria. But at the last second, a vortex appeared in front of the mechanical angel and sucked the blast inside.

"Despite all your efforts, there is no way for you to escape defeat in this duel." Aki mechanically told Yusei. "Your resistance is futile."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had thought long and hard about how this duel was going to go even before I started working on the prologue. I wanted a duel where Yusei would be tortured, so in the end I decided to have Aki use a sort of burn/deck destruction strategy. The outline for this duel came together surprisingly quick. I thought it'd be harder since I had to keep track of how many cards were left in Yusei's deck each turn. Anyway, stay tuned for part two of this duel.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	11. The Crimson Dragon

**Author's Note:** Late last night I discovered I made a slight blunder when I wrote Yusei and Kiryu's duel. As it turns out, Infinity Dwarf is a level two monster, not a level three. Nobody complained about it so far, but I figured it'd be a matter of time before somebody did. Plus it was bugging me, so I went back and replaced Infernity Dwarf with Infernity Necromancer. Let this be a lesson to everyone. Always triple-check your facts when you do research.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Also, the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix. I'm just borrowing her for this AU.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Crimson Dragon

"Either play another card, or end your turn." Aki mechanically told Yusei.

Yusei looked at his hand. The only card he had left was Quick-Span Knight, nothing that he could use to take down Rosaria. His one shot at turning the duel around had gone up in smoke.

"I end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Aki drew her next card. "For my first move I activate Rosaria's effect and equip it with Lightning Warrior from the Graveyard, increasing Rosaria's ATK to 5300."

A mass of energy vines shot out of Rosaria's chest and pulled a struggling Lightning Warrior out of the ground. In moments the blonde armored warrior was turned into energy and pulled into the mechanical angel's chest.

"Next I play another copy of Despair Machine Omega." Aki announced.

Another white box-shaped machine identical to the one Aki played before materialized onto the field.

"Now I summon Evil Thorn." Aki announced. The small withered plant appeared. "Next I tribute Evil Thorn to inflict 300 points of damage and summon two more Evil Thorns in Defense Mode."

The black seedpod handing from Evil Thorn inflated and exploded into a barrage of shrapnel. Not only was the plant that produced the pod destroyed in the explosion, Yusei was hit in the back by the thorns, crying out in pain as his life points took a slight dive to 3900. Meanwhile, two more withered green plants appeared by Aki on the track.

"Now the effects of both Despair Machine Omega cards activate, increasing my opponent's life points by 2000, but at the same time forcing him to send four cards from the top of the deck to the Graveyard." Aki announced.

The two white box-like machines fired red beams at Yusei's back, raising his life points to 5900. A second later, four more cards popped out of Yusei's deck holder.

"I now attack Stardust Dragon with Rosaria." Aki announced. "Black Blade of Despair."

With the movements of a mechanical puppet, Rosaria moved in and slashed Stardust Dragon across the chest with the blade mounted on his left arm. The dragon shrieked in pain as a red scar appeared on its chest for a moment before vanishing. At the same time, Yusei cried out in pain as well. He felt as if someone had cut deep into him across the chest with a huge shard of ice. The pain was so intense that his vision blacked out for a moment. Yusei's life points had fallen to 3100, but remarkably Stardust Dragon was still on the field.

"What the hell? Why wasn't Stardust Dragon destroyed?" Kiryu wondered as he rode behind the two duelists.

"Rosaria cannot destroy monsters in battle, but damage is still inflicted to the opponent." Aki explained. "Now the effects of both Despair Machine Omega cards activate."

The two white machines bombarded Yusei with two beams of red light. Yusei's life points rose to 5100 as four more cards popped out of his deck holder.

"I end my turn." Aki announced. "And with the end of my turn, Rosaria's Agony Matrix activates and inflicts 700 points of damage."

A beam of green electrical energy fired from the gem on Rosaria's headdress and hit Yusei as his D-Wheel began another lap around the track. Yusei cried out again as the beam hit him, dropping his life points to 4400. It felt like his body was on fire. His vision blacked out again for only a brief instant and his D-Wheel wobbled. A second later, Aki's pair of Despair Machines fired two more beams of light at Yusei's. Yusei's life points climbed to 6400 and four more cards popped out of his deck.

"Well this is disappointing." Lucciano remarked from up in the skybox. "I was hoping Fudo's suffering would be drawn out longer."

"So was I." Placido agreed. "But it's Yusei's own fault for trying to fight back by summoning that wretched dragon of his. That forced my programmed little puppet down on the track to turn up the heat. Now Yusei's deck will start to fade even faster."

"It may not matter either way." Jose cut in. "Humans can only withstand so much physical punishment. From the looks of how Yusei Fudo is riding his D-Wheel, he may not last much longer."

Down on the track, a frustrated Kiryu rode up next to Aki. "You have to stop this, Aki! Don't you realize that's Yusei you're hurting?"

Aki said nothing in response or even looked at Kiryu. Her expression remained emotionless. But at Kiryu looked closer he could see tears streaming down Aki's cheeks. Immediately Kiryu sped up his D-Wheel to ride alongside Yusei.

"Yusei, I just saw Aki crying." Kiryu informed him. "Which means she's probably still in there. So you have to hold on!"

Yusei smiled a little and nodded. He didn't like that Aki was in tears, but the fact that she was still there under that mechanical exterior Placido had placed over her. Which meant that there was still a chance to save her. With a trembling hand, Yusei drew his next card. The instant he did, Mighty Warrior appeared on the field inside a glass coffin and was pulled beneath the ground by a mass of vines. Soon after, another one of the strange loathsome Coffin Flowers appeared by Yusei. Yusei turned his attention to his newly drawn card. It wasn't any sort of card he could use to win the duel, but at least he could use it to try and buy a little more time.

"I set one card face down and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

The moment Yusei ended his turn though, two more cards popped out of the top of his deck due to the Coffin Flowers. Yusei's deck was quickly being eaten away, and he knew if he didn't do something about it soon he'd be finished.

Aki drew her next card. "I attack Stardust Dragon with Rosaria. Black Blade of Despair."

"I activate my Trap, Scrapiron Scarecrow!" Yusei announced just as the mechanical angel was about to move in for the kill. "This card negates Rosaria's attack and then sets itself back on the field!"

A small wooden cross with a pair of gloves, a football helmet, and a pair of goggles materialized in from of Stardust Dragon just as Rosaria was about to swing down his blade. An invisible barrier appeared in front of Stardust and the scarecrow just as the blade was about to strike. When the attack ended, the scarecrow vanished.

"A futile maneuver." Aki told Yusei in an emotionless tone. "I end my turn. And with the end of my turn comes the activation of Rosaria's Agony Matrix and both Despair Machine Omega cards."

Yusei cried out as he was stuck by another electrical beam from Rosaria, dropping his life points to 3700. He was then bombarded by the rays of the Despair Machines, raising his life points back up to 5700 at the cost of four more cards from the top of his deck. When it was all over, Yusei was finding it hard to remain conscious.

"You might as well give up now, Yusei." Placido's voice suddenly gloated. Both Yusei and Kiryu looked to see Placido's face superimposed over Rosaria's. "At this point you've all but lost. Your deck has almost been completely drained, which means your next turn will be your last. If you surrender now I'll allow you and your friend Kiryu to at least remain on the middle level of the Pit. Though your early release will be out of the question."

"And what about Aki?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, I think I'll continue to hold onto Ms. Izayoi." Placido replied. "She's proven herself to be quite an effective eliminator."

"So that's it? You just expect me to just lay down and die while you keep using Aki?" Yusei asked as anger rose up within him. "Just who the hell… DO YOU THINK I AM?"

In that instant a red light suddenly ignited on Yusei's right forearm in the shape of a dragon's head. Yusei recognized it as the same mark that had appeared on his arm the last time he dueled Aki. At the same time, the claw-shaped mark on Aki's arm also began to glow and she gasped as her eyes started to glow red.

"What the hell is going on?" Yusei wondered.

* * *

Sect Ijuin sat in his small and somewhat dirty apartment in the tower his gang had come to calling the Bird's Nest. The evening was shaping up to be a fairly relaxing one. There were no signs of any attacking marauders and Security patrols through the sector had dropped down. All of which meant that Sect could just sit back and watch his small but still functioning television. Sect fired up the device and began flipping through the channels.

The first show Sect came upon was a duel between Neo Domino's champion, Jack Atlas, and some easily forgettable opponent. Sect yawned and resumed flipping through the channels. He never cared much for Jack Atlas. Sect felt that he was way too stuck up and that he won way too easily. It was as if Jack's opponents didn't know the first thing about dueling. Watching more that one Jack Atlas duel was boring, since they all seemed to end the same way. Plus Sect had noticed that the boss of his gang didn't seem to like Jack much. For what reason, Sect didn't know, but he didn't really care either way.

The next show Sect landed on was an old sci-fi movie he had seen in the past about aliens taking over a small town through the use of mind control, and only one ten-year-old boy knew about what they were doing. It was a cheesy film, but Sect enjoyed it nonetheless. As Sect took a swig from the can of soda he was holding, a petit young woman with dark hair and pale blue eyes burst into the room and switched off the television set.

"Hey! I was watching that, Raven!" Sect complained as he shot up from his chair. "And haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"No time!" Raven told him with a look of desperation on her face. "Go find Bruno and Saiga. Right now there are two people who need our help."

"This isn't about that weird dragon stuff, is it?" Sect asked. "Can't the boss handle this?"

"He's still out on a run with some of the others to the orphanage." Raven informed him. "Now we have to hurry. Those two people out there need are help right now."

"Oh man!" Sect grumbled as he hurried out of the apartment with Raven. "And here I thought I was gonna have a night off."

* * *

As Yusei tried to figure out the mystery of the strange glowing mark on his arm, the top card of his deck began to glow red as well. Seeing as it was his turn, Yusei drew the card from his deck. As soon as he did, Scarred Warrior appeared on the field inside a glass coffin and was pulled underground. Another Coffin Flower appeared by his D-Wheel a second later. But Yusei's attention was more focused on the card he had just drawn.

The red light of the card faded to reveal an effect monster card. The illustration of the card depicted a small red spacecraft that resembled the head of a dragon. The black windshield of the craft looked almost like a pair of pointed sunglasses and on the very front was a long silver drill. Yusei had never seen the strange card before in his deck, but after reading the card's effect he saw that it was just the type of card he needed to put an end to the duel.

"From my hand, I equip Stardust Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapon-Debris Drill Spear!" Yusei announced.

In a flash of crimson light, the dragonhead spacecraft zoomed onto the field. The back of the ship opened up as it backed up towards Stardust Dragon. The ship then attached itself to the silvery-white dragon's face and became like a mask. Stardust Dragon's eyes began to burn with a fiery green light from behind the black windshield of the mask.

"Stardust Dragon gains Debris Drill Spear's 1000 ATK! But that's not the only thing it gets." Yusei explained. "The spear also raises Stardust's ATK by 400 points for each card in my Graveyard. And with all the cards that have been sent to my Graveyard during this duel, Stardust Dragon's ATK is now 14700!"

"What?" a shocked Placido exclaimed up in the skybox as he shot up from his couch.

"Stardust Dragon, attack Rosaria!" Yusei commanded. "Stardust Drill Break!"

Stardust Dragon roared as a mass of drill erupted all over its body. In seconds the drills receded and the drill on the end of its snout increased in size and began to spin. Stardust dragon flew full speed at Rosaria and shattered the angel's chest with its drill. The remaining fragments of Rosaria exploded and Aki's life points plummeted from 4000 to zero in an instant. With the duel finally at its end, Stardust Dragon and all the other monsters vanished, and the inside of the arena resumed its normal appearance.

"Looks like Fudo actually managed to win." Lucciano remarked up in the skybox.

"Not entirely." Placido smirked.

Suddenly down on the track the front wheel of Aki's D-Wheel exploded, causing the cycle to flip over. Aki was thrown off the back of the vehicle in the process and was propelled over the side of the track.

"Aki!" a horrified Yusei called out as he willingly jumped his own ride off the track to try and catch her.

"Don't Yusei! You'll never make it!" Kiryu called out.

Suddenly an immense beam of crimson light shot down from the sky through the top of the pit and enveloped the entire arena. The light finally cleared and hovering above the track was a massive serpentine dragon made of red light. It had gold eyes and a pair of large wings. The dragon held an unconscious Yusei in its right claw and an unconscious Aki in its left. With its tail, the dragon was holding onto Yusei's slightly damaged D-Wheel.

"The Crimson Dragon!" a shocked Lucciano identified.

"What the hell is this?" Kiryu wondered down on the track as he brought his D-Wheel to a stop.

The dragon roared and swiftly moved its head down towards Kiryu. A second later the arena was once again filled completely with a crimson light. The window of the triad's skybox shattered as the light shot up out of the Pit. When the light finally faded, Placido and his two companions looked down to the track they found no trace of Yusei, Aki, or Kiryu.

"It seems that the Crimson Dragon has finally made its appearance." Jose observed.

"Well, I guess this confirms that Fudo really is one of the Signers." Lucciano mused.

In a fit of rage, Placido drew his sword and split the couch he was sitting on before in half. "Yusei Fudo… I will destroy you!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The card Yusei used to win the duel in this chapter was inspired by the ZEXAL Weapon (or ZW) monsters from _Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL_. Safe to say, there will be more of these cards appearing later in this story. Debris Drill Spear itself was also inspired by another anime series. Points to anyone who can guess which series that is.

Two other characters also made their debut in this chapter. One of those characters is Raven, the OC who is the star of sammycrusinix's story, _When Blackbirds Meet_. If you haven't read it yet, it's a good read. The other character, Sect, isn't mine either. He's Yusei's sidekick from the manga version of 5D's. Since I had already used a lot of stuff from the manga in this story, I decided to give Sect a role in this thing as well. More points to anyone who can guess who the boss of Sect and Raven's gang is (actually I can't really give any points. But you know).

Please review and let me know what you think.


	12. The Bird's Nest

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Bird's Nest

Kiryu awoke to find that he was flat on the ground looking up at an endless starry sky. It took him a few moments to remember how exactly he had gotten there, but quickly he recalled Yusei and Aki's agonizing duel and the dragon made of red light that showed up afterward. Upon remembering Yusei and Aki, Kiryu quickly sat up and looked around. He had no idea where he was, other than the fact that he was not in the Pit, or anywhere near where it was. All Kiryu could tell was that he was somewhere in Satellite. As he looked behind to his right, Kiryu saw Yusei and Aki lying on the ground unconscious. Near them was Yusei's D-Wheel and the black one he borrowed to follow Yusei on the track during the duel.

Kiryu quickly got up and rushed over to the unconscious couple. He could tell they were hurt, though how badly he couldn't say. As Kiryu looked the two of them over he noticed the red mark that was on Yusei's right arm. The mark was shaped like the head of a dragon, and Kiryu remembered how that mark had appeared during the duel. He also recalled how a similar mark had shown up on Aki's arm. As he looked at the mark, Kiryu noticed how similar it looked to the wing-shaped mark that Jack was born with.

Kiryu did not reflect on this similarity for long though. His priority was getting Yusei and Aki some help. Trying to figure out what to do, Kiryu went over to the black D-Wheel. He got on it and was relived to find that it would still start. After turning the vehicle off, Kiryu turned his attention to Yusei's D-Wheel. He thought about trying to start it up and realized that even if it did still work, Yusei was in no condition to drive it. And of course Kiryu had no means to tow the vehicle. The only things that were around were a bunch of rocks. It seemed that there was no other choice but the leave the red motorcycle behind.

Then Kiryu realized there was another problem. How was he going to transport two unconscious and injured people with just one D-Wheel? He certainly couldn't afford to make two trips. With their injuries, Kiryu knew there was a good chance that one of them might die while he tried to return for them. Plus while they were alone at the moment, Satellite was crawling with all sorts of weirdoes that would do god only knows what to someone who was alone and injured. Then Kiryu realized yet another part to their current dilemma. Both he and Yusei were still wearing prison uniforms from the bottom of the Pit. The moment he brought them to any sort of clinic they'd most likely be turned in to the authorities. And Kiryu was certain that was just what Placido was hoping for.

As Kiryu tried to think of a solution he was stirred from his thoughts by the sound of approaching vehicles in the distance. Under the light of the full moon he could tell there were four of them, three D-Wheels and an olive-green truck with a canvas cover over the back. The D-Wheel that had point was purple and styled in the shape of a dragon. Towards the back it had a large pair of fins that were almost like wings. All Kiryu could tell about the rider was that the person was wearing a black hood and cloak with a purple jacket and black elbow-high gloves with a black shirt and jeans, and a pair of lavender boots.

The D-Wheel riding on the left side of the formation was of a more unique design. It was also purple, though a darker shade than the dragon-shaped D-Wheel. The vehicle had one large wheel in back and the front end was a simple long point. The rider of this unique D-Wheel was a man in a purple riding suit and helmet and had a thick pair of orange sunglasses. The third D-Wheel in the group was a little smaller than the other two and looked similar to an ant. The rider was a young man with somewhat shaggy orange-brown hair. He had on a white and dark-blue riding suit and helmet with an orange bandana around his neck and a pair of goggles over his eyes.

Kiryu tensed up as the vehicles approached. He had no idea if these people were friend or foe, though there was a very good chance it was the latter. The rider of the dragon D-Wheel pulled up a few feet in front of Kiryu. The other three vehicles pulled up soon after. Upon putting down her hood, the rider removed her black and purple bird-shaped helmet, revealing that she was a young woman with fairly long raven-black hair and pale blue eyes.

The rider dismounted and approached Kiryu. "Who are you?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Kiryu replied, as he looked her over suspiciously. "But if you must know, the name's Kiryu Kyosuki."

"The former leader of Team Satisfaction?" the girl asked with a slight look of surprise.

"That's right. Now just who are you people?" Kiryu demanded to know.

"You needn't worry about us." The young woman assured him. "My name's Raven."

As the young man in the white riding suit dismounted and walked up, Raven looked behind Kiryu and saw Yusei and Aki on the ground. Instantly she rushed over to check on them.

"Hey wait!" Kiryu told her.

"Relax man. Raven's gonna take good care of 'em." The young rider in white assured him. "My name's Sect, by the way. Sect Ijuin."

"This one friend of yours. His name's Yusei Fudo, isn't it?" Raven deduced.

"How do you know?" Kiryu asked.

"You're both exactly as my husband described." Raven smiled.

A moment later, the driver of the green got out of the cab. The driver was a scruffy-looking man with brown hair, wearing a white shirt with a green vest and grey jeans. The truck driver gave Kiryu a suspicious eye. Meanwhile, the man in the purple riding suit went over to check out Yusei's D-Wheel.

"So, you were the leader of the famous Team Satisfaction?" Sect asked Kiryu. "I heard you guys were pretty badass."

"That was a long time ago." Kiryu told him.

"Hey Raven, I think we should just ditch these guys." The truck driver suggested.

"Saiga, the Crimson Dragon told me to come here and I've had no reason not to listen to him so far." Raven told him.

"Have you even looked at what two of these guys are wearing?" Saiga pointed out. "They're wearing the prison uniforms of the people they throw to the bottom of the Pit. Which means they're bad news."

"I don't care what they're wearing. Right now they need our help." Raven argued as she finished looking over Yusei and Aki. "Okay, these two are banged up pretty badly, but I should be able to help them once we get back to the nest."

"Hey Raven, this red D-Wheel here is busted but should be easy to repair." The rider in purple informed her. "It'd be ashamed to just leave it behind."

"Okay Bruno. We'll put it on the trailer with my ride." Raven agreed. "I'll ride in the back of the truck to keep an eye on our two injured friends. Sect, you take point on the way back."

"Check." Sect replied with a thumbs-up.

"Now just hold up!" Saiga interrupted. "Haven't you guys listen to a single word I said?"

"Do you want to explain to my husband why we left two of his oldest and dearest friends and an injured young woman behind to rot in this wasteland?" Raven argued as she crossed her arms.

Saiga looked like he was about to say something but couldn't seem to get the words out. Defeated, Saiga sighed and finally got back into the truck. With the argument apparently settled, Kiryu helped Sect and Raven put Yusei and Aki in the back of the truck. Kiryu still didn't entirely trust Raven and her friends, but with Yusei and Aki injured it seemed he really didn't have a choice. Once Bruno moved Yusei's D-Wheel onto the large trailer that was hitched to Saiga's truck, they were off.

As Kiryu rode alongside his new companions to their hideout he could see some of the ruined buildings of the Satellite under the light of the moon. For many, the ruins had come to be reminders of what Satellite used to be. In the past Satellite and Neo Domino was one city, even sharing the same landmass. But the Zero Reverse had changed it all. When the old Momentum reactor went critical all those years ago the force of the explosion was so great that it split the land apart, making Satellite its own island. And the people who lived there were reduced to either working menial jobs at the recycling plants or a life of crime on the streets. As far as Neo Domino and the rest of the outside world were concerned, the people of Satellite were nothing more than trash.

Kiryu mused about what the lives of him and the other members of Team Satisfaction would've been like had the Zero Reverse not have happened. He imagined that Yusei probably would've become a famous scientist or mechanic, or perhaps a renowned pro duelist. Kiryu even thought that perhaps he himself would've at least not turned out to be the piece of scum he ended up as. After a moment, Kiryu shook these rather depressing thoughts from his head and turned his attention to his escorts.

"So who exactly are you guys?" Kiryu asked Sect.

"We're part of the Blackbird Gang." Sect explained. "You've already met me and Raven. The guy driving the truck is Saiga. He helps us get things like information and stuff like that. And the guy in the purple is our mechanic, Bruno. He's got a few memory problems, but he's real good at what he does."

"Are you guys a duel gang?" Kiryu asked.

"I guess you could call us that. But there haven't really been any duel gangs since you guys in Team Satisfaction got taken down." Sect answered. "There are still marauders and other scumbags out there who use dueling to take what they want though. Plus there's Security. But most of the time we help the people of Satellite by getting them things like food and medicine."

Kiryu rather liked the idea of a duel gang that helped people. He started to wish that he and the rest of Team Satisfaction had done the same thing after taking down their finally opponent. But all Kiryu could think about back then was crushing any other gang that might become a threat or fighting Security. He had been consumed by a need for more opponents. Kiryu shook those thoughts from his head. He was starting to depress himself.

"So is Raven your leader?" Kiryu inquired.

"Actually she's more like our second in command." Sect answered. "She's sort of married to our real boss."

"What do you mean sort of?" Kiryu asked.

"It's complicated." Sect replied. "You can ask her or the boss about it though."

Suddenly in the distance, Kiryu could see two more D-Wheels approaching. Immediately he tensed up.

"Relax man, these two are on our side." Sect assured him.

As they got closer, Kiryu could make out the two riders. One of them was a young woman who looked to be in her late teens. She had long bubblegum-pink hair that went just past her shoulders and a triangular yellow mark on her right cheek, showing that she had at least one run-in with the law. Her outfit was made up of a black cowboy hat, a black leather vest with a black string bikini top, and a pair of tight-fitting blue jeans with black boots. The front of her red D-Wheel was styled in the shape of a horse.

The other individual was a rather muscular gentleman with neon-blue hair styled in a Mohawk and vertical yellow lines on both his cheeks. His outfit was made up of football shoulder pads with a black t-shirt, grey jeans, and black boots. The man rode a rather large tan D-Wheel with two large wheels in the back and four large exhaust pipes on each side.

"Hey there Sect." the pink-haired woman greeted once they got in range. "Didn't expect to see you out tonight. I thought you had the night off."

"That's what I thought too, Bandit." Sect sighed. "But then Raven suddenly dragged me on this rescue mission. Worked out pretty well though. The guy with us used to be the leader of Team Satisfaction."

"Wow, no kidding." Bandit replied with an impressed expression, as she looked Kiryu over. "That must've been some rescue mission."

"Wasn't that big of a deal, actually." Sect informed her. "So you and Max on night patrol?"

"Yeah, we drew the short straw." Bandit confirmed. The man known as Max nodded as well. "It's been one big yawn. Anyway, the boss just got back from his trip."

"Okay then, we should be getting back too then." Sect replied. "See you guys later."

"Yep. See ya." Bandit told them before riding off with Max.

"Just how big is your gang?" Kiryu inquired.

"We're pretty huge, but there's room to spare at the hideout." Sect answered. "Anyway, we better get a move on."

It was not long before the hideout of the Blackbird Gang came into view. The structure was a fairly tall and surprisingly intact, and looked as though it once served as a condo back in the days when Satellite was a part of the old Domino City. Out in front was a sign that said the place was once called _Sherwood Tower_, but painted over it in black spray paint were the words, _Bird's Nest_. Kiryu's escorts guided him down into an underground parking garage beneath the tower. Once they were all parked, Raven got out of the back of the truck.

"Sect, why don't you, Kiryu, and Saiga take Yusei and Aki up to the roof?" Raven requested. "I have to go prepare."

"Don't you have a doctor here?" Kiryu asked her.

"Trust me. Everything will be fine." Raven assured him.

A few minutes later Kiryu had helped get the still unconscious Yusei and Aki up onto the roof of the building and set them on a pair of stone slabs. Saiga left once the chore was done. Kiryu didn't blame him for it of course. Saiga's reaction was understandable, and deserving Kiryu felt in his case. After Kiryu and Sect waited for what seemed like ten minutes, Raven finally arrived.

Raven's outfit had changed to a backless white dress with a gold tiara that had a red gemstone in the front of it. Raven's hair was arranged so that her bare back was showing. And Kiryu was surprised to find that on Raven's back was a red mark in the form of a winged serpentine dragon holding a heart in its front claw. The thing about the mark that surprised Kiryu the most was the dragon's head. It looked exactly like the dragonhead mark on Yusei's arm. Raven stepped up onto a pedestal in front of Yusei and Aki's slabs and outstretched her arms.

"Oh Crimson Dragon, guardian of heavens." Raven called. "I beseech thee to lend this humble vessel thy power so that thy warriors may be revived."

Suddenly Raven's eyes began to glow bright red and beams of crimson light shot out from her hands and bombarded Yusei and Aki. After a moment, the lights finally faded and Raven's eyes returned to normal. She wobbled a bit as if whatever she had just done had made her dizzy. After a moment Yusei opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

"Where am I?" Yusei wondered as he held onto his head. He glanced over and saw Aki still unconscious. "Aki!"

"She'll be fine." Raven assured Yusei as she got down from her pedestal. "But it'll take her a while to wake up. She was in worse shape."

Yusei quickly got up and rushed over to Aki's side. As he took her hand he noticed the dragonhead mark on his arm. "What the heck is this?"

"That's one of the marks of the Crimson Dragon." Raven explained as she walked over. "I have the full set on my back. The fact you have that mark means that you're a Signer, one of the warriors destined to help the Crimson Dragon protect the earth from great evil."

"Are you one of the 'Signers' too?" Kiryu asked.

"I'm… a little different." Raven answered. "I'm more of a priestess to the Crimson Dragon. Someone to act as his avatar when necessary."

"Aki has one of these marks too." Yusei informed her. "She thinks it has something to do with these weird powers of hers."

"Well she's probably right." Raven confirmed. "I was also born with some crazy psychic powers too. Oh, that reminds me. When your friend wakes up, give her this."

Raven handed Yusei a Duel Monsters card. The card was a Synchro monster, a dragon. It had an almost bird-like body covered almost completely in red rose petals.

"Black Rose Dragon?" Yusei asked as he read the card. "What kind of card is this?"

"That card depicts one of six dragons that served the Crimson Dragon in ancient times." Raven explained.

Yusei found that the deck holder for his D-Wheel was still on his left arm and that his deck was fully in place. Yusei took out his deck and pulled out the Stardust Dragon card.

"Is this one of these six dragons too?" Yusei asked as he showed the card to Raven.

"Oh good. You already have yours." Raven replied. "The village I used to live in was only entrusted with two of the dragon cards, and Black Rose Dragon was the last one I had. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go lay down for a bit. If you have anymore questions you can ask my husband."

With that, Raven left the roof. Yusei sighed and turned his attention back to Aki.

"You okay?" Kiryu asked.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about Aki." Yusei replied. "Plus I still don't really know what's going on."

"Well, I never thought I'd ever see you two again." A familiar voice spoke.

Kiryu and Yusei turned to find a familiar young man standing before them with a cocky smile. He had orange hair styled like the head of a mop thanks to the grey headband he was wearing, and his face was covered in yellow marks. The mark that stood out the most was the M-shaped mark on his forehead.

"Crow?" Yusei identified.

"How's it going, guys?" Crow happily asked as he came over and patted them both on the shoulder.

"I'm sure glad to see you." Yusei told him.

"Same here." Crow agreed. "So what happened to you guys?"

"It's a long story." Kiryu replied. "So are you part of this gang?"

"I'm more than part of it. I'm the leader." Crow confirmed.

"Wait, so then that means _you're_ Raven's husband?" Kiryu asked.

"You're _married_?" a shocked Yusei asked.

"Oh… you heard about that, huh?" Crow grimaced.

"I told 'em, boss." Sect proudly cut in.

"Yeah, I should've known." Crow sighed. "Well, technically Raven and I are married. I mean it was legal, apparently. But it was sort of an accident."

"How do you accidentally marry someone?" Kiryu asked.

"It's a long story." Crow told them.

"We've got time." Yusei pointed out.

"You're not gonna let this go, are ya?" Crow realized. One look from Kiryu and Yusei confirmed his suspicion. "Fine. It was a little while after I met Sect and Saiga when I got out of the minimum security joint I was thrown in after we were all arrested. One day we went to this village off the island. I was out for a walk when I saw Raven being dragged away against her will by this large dude. So being the kind of guy I am, I follow them to this temple where this old guy was.

"What I found out when I got there was that Raven was being forced to marry that jerk. So of course I step in to try and put a stop to the thing, and the guy ends up challenging me to a duel. Of course I wiped the floor with the guy. But when it was all over the old guy, who I found out too late was some kind of priest, tells me that because I beat that jerk in a duel I ended up becoming Raven's husband."

"You should've seen the look on the boss' face." Sect laughed.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Crow asked.

"Not really." Sect replied with a large grin.

"Then why don't you make yourself useful and get Yusei and Kiryu some new clothes?" Crow suggested with a murderous glare.

"Whatever." Sect agreed as he walked off, snickering all the way.

"…So you and Raven just went along with this marriage?" Kiryu asked once Sect had left.

"Well like I said, it was a legal ceremony." Crow continued. "I couldn't believe it when Saiga told me. But he also found out that Raven and I could get a divorce after six months."

"But you haven't yet?" Yusei pointed out.

"Hey, I told Raven I'd be okay if she wanted a divorce." Crow assured them. "But so far she hasn't asked for one. And she is quite the lady. So…"

"Well, I guess this means congratulations." Yusei realized.

"Thanks man. Congrats to you too for finding Aki again after all these years." Crow replied. "So do you still have a thing for her?"

"Oh… uh… well…" Yusei replied as his face turned a distinct shade of red.

"Okay. Enough with the romance stuff for now." Kiryu cut in. "Crow, what do you know about this Crimson Dragon?"

"I guess you're talking about this." Crow replied as he removed the grayish-brown glove from his right arm. Kiryu and Yusei saw that Crow had a red mark on his forearm in the shape of the tip of a dragon's tail. "The thing showed up when I was dueling the jerk trying to marry Raven."

"What is this Crimson Dragon, anyway?" Yusei asked.

"The way Raven told me, it's some sort of guardian from space that protects the earth." Crow explained. "It was a pretty big deal in Raven's village. In fact it was because she was the dragons priestess that she was being forced to marry that one guy."

"Did Raven give you a card too?" Yusei inquired.

"You mean this?" Crow asked as he held up a Duel Monsters card.

The card was another Synchro monster dragon. This dragon was mainly black and had the head of a bird and a set of insect-like wings. The name of the card read, Black-Winged Dragon.

"This was one of two cards that Raven had." Crow continued.

"This is all a bit strange." Yusei remarked.

"Yeah, but it looks like it's all true." Kiryu pointed out. "I've seen this Crimson Dragon with my own eyes, Yusei. It took you, me, and Aki out of the Pit, and Raven used its powers to heal the two of you."

"Well, we can talk about this more tomorrow." Crow suggested. "It's pretty late, and I'm sure we've all got a lot to catch up on."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay up and keep an eye on Aki." Yusei requested. "At least until she wakes up."

"Sure bro. Whatever you want." Crow assured him.

* * *

Yusei sat in a chair at Aki's bedside in one of the apartment. He had since changed into a new outfit Sect had provided him with. The new outfit consisted of a black sleeveless shirt with a red design on the front with a blue jacket, a pair of jeans, and brown elbow-high gloves with matching boots. The night had grown late and Yusei found that he was fighting to stay awake. But he couldn't sleep, not until he was sure Aki was okay. Plus there was a lot for him to think about. Yusei was stirred from his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Come in." Yusei called.

The door opened, and in walked a young man with blue hair wearing a white, blue, and yellow jacket. "Hi, it's just me, Bruno. We met earlier tonight, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Yusei recalled. "I didn't recognize you because you were still wearing that riding outfit of yours when we met."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Bruno replied. "So any change in your friend?"

"Not yet." Yusei sighed. "Is there something you want?"

"Oh, well I just wanted to let you know that it'll be a little bit before I can start repairs on your D-Wheel." Bruno informed him. "Some other stuff has come up."

"That's fine. I'd prefer to work on the repairs myself." Yusei replied. "Not that I doubt your skill, of course."

"It's fine." Bruno assured him. "So I take it you've done repairs on the machine before."

"Actually, I built that D-Wheel from scrap while I was in the Pit." Yusei revealed.

"Wow. Well from what I can tell you did an outstanding job putting it together." Bruno told him.

"Thanks." Yusei replied.

"I'll leave you alone. But before I go I'd like to give you something." Bruno told him as he handed Yusei a card.

Yusei took the card and looked at it. It was yet another Synchro monster, one that looked like a cross between a yellow and blue racecar and a robot.

"Formula Synchron?" Yusei asked as he read the name of the card. "Wait, this thing is also a Tuner?"

"Yeah. When you're up to it, I teach you how to use it." Bruno confirmed. "Well, I'll see you later."

Bruno left the room after that. Yusei sighed and put the card away, turning his attention back to Aki. Suddenly Aki stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Are you okay, Aki?" Yusei asked.

"Yusei?" Aki drowsily asked as she slowly sat up. "Where…?"

Before she finished her question, Aki gasped and her eyes went wide in horror.

"What's wrong?" Yusei asked.

"I… I remember it all." Aki explained as she broke into tears. "I remember how Placido… how he made me try to kill you."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." Yusei assured her.

"I tried so hard to stop myself. But no matter how hard I did…" Aki went on. But before she could finish she completely broke down.

Yusei took her into his arms and she sobbed into his chest. There were many times in the Pit when Yusei wanted to comfort Aki the way he was at that moment. Many times when he just wanted to hold her in his arms to ease her pain and guilt. But the fence between them always prevented it. The fence was gone now though. At last there was no longer a barrier between them. After a few minutes Aki finally calmed down. They remained in that position for what seemed almost like hours to Yusei.

"…You must hate me now." Aki assumed, finally breaking the silence.

"I told you before I could never hate you." Yusei reminded her.

"But how could you not?" Aki asked as she pulled away. "I've brought you nothing but pain and misery."

"None of that's been your fault." Yusei pointed out. "Look Aki, there's nothing that could ever happen that could make me hate you. And the reason is because… it's because I really care about you a lot."

Aki was simply stunned by his words. "Yusei…"

In that instant they began to gaze deeply into one another's eyes. Slowly they began to move in closer to one another as if by some sort of magnetic pull. Until at last their lips met in a deep and passionate kiss.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry if this chapter dragged a bit for anyone. A lot of stuff to cover in this one. To sammycrusinix, I hope my depiction of Raven was okay. The whole accidental marriage to Crow was this funny idea I had one morning while I was waking up. I get a lot of weird ideas while I'm just waking up. Anyway, one of the ideas I had for this AU was to have Crow as the leader of a large Robin Hood-type gang. So we might see more members of the gang later in the story and in the next two books. The characters of Max and Bandit were actually just pulled out of thin air as I was writing the chapter. I'm not sure how much I'll develop them at this point in the story. As for why they were dressed like refugees from an 80's post-apocalypse film, well... it's Satellite. I mean we've all seen how the duel gangs in the anime dressed.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	13. Synchro Training

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I was afraid everyone would find it boring for some reason. Except for the part where Yusei and Aki kissed, of course.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven was created by sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 12: Synchro Training

It had been a peaceful five weeks since Yusei and Aki had arrived at the Bird's Nest with Kiryu. Since that time, Aki's recovery from her ordeal with Placido had been quick. Or at least her physical recovery had been. Yusei felt certain that whatever had happened to Aki had left its share of emotional wounds. But he was fine with waiting for Aki to talk about it when she was ready. Despite what had happened, Aki had been in very good spirits during her recovery.

When Yusei wasn't spending time with Aki or his friends, he was usually down in the garage of the Bird's Nest working on his D-Wheel and the D-Wheels of the massive Blackbird Gang alongside Bruno. Yusei found that he greatly enjoyed working with Bruno. Never before had he met someone who was as knowledgeable on Momentum and D-Wheel technology as he was, if not more so. They would often spend hours talking on those subjects. That is when they weren't actually working. On that particular afternoon as the two were finishing a tune-up on Sect's ant-shaped D-Wheel, Bandit entered the room.

"Hey Yusei, got a minute?" Bandit asked.

"Sure. What's up, Bandit?" Yusei replied.

"Well you see Raven thought it was time that Aki got some new outfits." Bandit explained. "And Aki kinda wants to know what you think of them. She's trying on stuff right now."

"You go on ahead Yusei. I can wrap things up here." Bruno assured him.

"Okay then." Yusei agreed as he began to follow Bandit out of the room.

"One thing though." Bruno told him right as he reached the doorway. "When you're done, you think you can meet me out the field six miles east of the tower in about an hour? I think it's about time I showed you something."

"Yeah, sure." Yusei answered.

"Good. Be sure to bring your D-Wheel." Bruno told him.

Yusei continued to follow Bandit up to the fifth floor of the tower. The pink-haired girl led him into an apartment that looked as though it had been converted into a clothing shop. The room was filled almost to the brim with racks and piles of clothes and all around were dressing mannequins. Already in the room were Crow, Raven, Sect, and Kiryu. Kiryu was wearing his new outfit consisting of a long black leather coat with a grey shirt, tattered jeans, and brown cowboy boots. Also in the room was a young woman in her late teens with violet eyes and long pale-blue hair tied back in a ponytail. She had on a short-sleeved blue shirt with a long dark-brown skirt and a tan apron with sewing tools sticking out the front pocket.

"So nice to finally meet you, Mr. Fudo." The young woman greeted as she went over and shook Yusei's hand. "I'm Connie Strode, tailor to the Blackbird Gang. I trust that the outfit I had Sect provide you with suits you."

"Uh yeah, it's great." Yusei replied. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why does this gang have a tailor?"

"It just sort of worked out that way." Bandit answered. "Back when we were a smaller outfit, I found Connie one day being hassled by these to scumbags. I fought them off for her and took her back with me. The rest is history, sort of."

"Mostly what I do is help make clothes for those in Satellite who might need them." Connie explained. "Of course most of the time I'm forced to work with scraps, but I do what I can."

"Hey Aki, I think we're all ready for you." Raven called.

"Is Yusei here already?" Aki asked from the other room.

"Yep, and he's waiting to see what you look like in your new outfit." Raven confirmed as Yusei leaned against a wall near a mannequin.

"Well okay. Here I come." Aki replied.

Yusei's eyes went a bit wide when Aki finally walked into the room. She still had the odd metal hair ornament that she had once told him was meant to keep her powers in check, but a red, black, and white almost Victorian style dress had replaced her original grey and black prison uniform. He also had on elbow-high black fingerless gloves and black stockings with red shoes. Aki also had on a gold almost cross-shaped medallion that Yusei couldn't help but notice, as her new outfit showed off her bust a bit.

"So how do I look?" Aki asked a bit nervously.

"Wow. You look great, Aki." Yusei told her.

"You really think so?" Aki asked back with a bit of a blush.

"Yusei's right. You look awesome!" Crow agreed.

"That outfit really suits you." Kiryu added.

"Yeah, it's totally you." Raven agreed.

"Thanks. All of you." Aki told them.

"Well Connie, looks like you've done it again." Bandit remarked as she put her arm around the blue-haired tailor.

"Hey, you know that outfit makes Aki look like Queen Angel of Roses almost." Sect noted. "Only without the wings and the mask."

"Well, I did take a little inspiration from Ms. Izayoi's favorite card when I designed the outfit." Connie admitted.

"Hey Aki. Since we've finally got your wardrobe taken care of, why don't I start helping you learn to control those powers of yours?" Raven suggested.

"That would be great." Aki agreed.

"Okay then, follow me." Raven told her.

With that, Raven walked out of the room with Aki following behind. Though Aki didn't leave without kissing Yusei on the cheek first.

"I better get going out on patrol." Bandit informed them. "Later you guys."

Bandit left the room while Connie went into the back of her little makeshift shop, leaving Yusei and the others alone.

"Hey, how do you guys think Aki would've looked if Aki came out dressed like Fallen Angel of Roses instead?" Sect wondered with a mischievous grin.

"Well, that certainly would've been different." Kiryu admitted.

"Man, what's wrong with you Sect?" Crow told him.

Yusei meanwhile blushed heavily as he thought of Aki wearing the skimpy black leather outfit of Queen Angel's dark twin. He found he even liked the idea of Aki having the whip. Caught off guard, Yusei tripped and almost knocked down the mannequin he was standing next to, causing Sect to snicker.

"I, uh, I have to go and, uh… I gotta go." A flustered Yusei told the others before leaving the room as fast as he could.

"Okay, now I know why you brought that up, Sect." Crow laughed. "That was priceless."

* * *

Aki sat cross-legged next to Raven in a small-enclosed rock garden out behind the tower attempting to meditate and control her powers at will. Her objective was to lift a fairly large stone into the air using only her thoughts. They had been at the task for quite awhile, and Aki was finding it a bit difficult. She sighed heavily, causing Raven to open her eyes and look at her.

"Need a break?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I had no idea this would be so hard." Aki replied.

"Hey, it's not like I'm expecting you to get it right away." Raven pointed out. "It took me awhile to learn to control my powers too."

"Were people afraid of your powers too?" Aki asked.

"Well, the other people in my village pretty much avoided me." Raven replied. "I guess it's because a lot of them were afraid of me, but some of them worshipped me because I was the priestess of the Crimson Dragon. Nobody treated me like a real person except my parents. That is until I met Crow."

"That's sort of how it was with Yusei." Aki admitted. "He's the first person who didn't treat me like a monster after seeing what I could do."

"You know, I just got an idea. How 'bout we have a quick duel?" Raven suggested.

"Are you sure? I mean you might get hurt dueling me." Aki pointed out.

"Relax, I'm not as fragile as I look." Raven assured her. "Besides, it'd be a chance for you to try out that card I had Yusei give you."

"Oh yeah." Aki recalled as she pulled out the Black Rose Dragon card. "I have been wanting to try it out. Especially since I've never used Synchro monsters before."

"You take a few minutes to work on your deck." Raven suggested as she got up. "When you're done, meet me up on the roof."

* * *

Yusei drove his D-Wheel out to the location where Bruno said to meet him. He found that it felt good to be able to drive out in the open land. Before he had only been able to ride it on the circular track of the Pit, always going around in an endless loop until the duel's end. This time he could go in any direction he wanted. It was true freedom.

Once Yusei reached the spot Bruno told him about, he stopped his ride and waited. Though he did not have to wait long. Barely a minute passed before he saw Bruno approaching on his unique pointed D-Wheel wearing his purple riding suit. In only a matter of seconds Bruno pulled up next to Yusei.

"You sure got all dressed up." Yusei observed. "So what's this thing you want to show me?"

"The only way to show it to you is to have a duel." Bruno revealed. "So are you up for it?"

"A duel with nothing at stake, huh?" Yusei smirked. "I haven't had a duel like that in a long time. You're on."

"I was hoping that'd be your reaction." Bruno smiled. "But before we start, we both have to get our D-Wheels to top speed."

"How come?" Yusei asked.

"The thing I want to show you requires a lot of speed." Bruno explained. "I want to make sure your ride can handle it."

"Okay then." Yusei agreed. He then looked into the distance ahead. "First one to reach that dead tree over there gets first turn."

"Fine by me." Bruno agreed. "Let's do this!"

With that, both of them took off over the wasteland. As the two riders continued to accelerate the old withered tree that was miles away ahead of them quickly loomed closer and closer. In only a matter of seconds before both cycles hit their top speed. Yusei managed to reach the tree only a split second before Bruno. The duel was about to begin.

* * *

Aki headed for the roof after looking through the rather vast card collection of the Blackbird Gang. She was impressed that the gang had managed to gather so many cards. A few of them were incredibly rare. The thing that surprised Aki the most about their collection was that she was able to find cards that greatly supported Black Rose Dragon. Upon reaching the roof, Aki found Raven waiting for her wearing a duel disk. Crow and Sect were there as well.

"Didn't take long for you to tweak your deck I see." Raven greeted. "I hope you don't mind that we have spectators."

"Are you still sure about this?" Aki asked.

"It'll be fine. Trust me." Raven assured her. "Don't hold anything back."

"Okay then." Aki replied as she and Raven activated their duel disks. "Let's do this."

"I'll let you start off." Raven told Aki after they drew their opening hands.

Aki drew her first card. "I summon Rose Fairy in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on Aki's side of the field was a pink fairy-like creature with large red eyes. Her red hair grew into a large rose at the back of her head.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn!" Aki announced.

Raven drew her first card. "I summon Luster Dragon in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Raven's side of the field was a fairly small almost human-sized dragon. Its purple scales shimmered like crystal.

"Luster Dragon, attack Rose Fairy!" Raven commanded. "Diamond Flare!"

"I activate my Trap, Rose Blizzard!" Aki announced. "When one of my monsters is attacked, Rose Blizzard switches the attacking monster to Defense Mode!"

Just as the dragon reared back its head to strike, a storm of red rose petals forced it back. The wind was strong enough to knock Luster Dragon to the ground.

"Okay then. I set one card and end my turn!" Raven announced.

Aki drew her next card. "I tribute Rose Fairy to summon a monster from my hand! Descend, Queen Angel of Roses!"

Rose Fairy shattered into rose petals and vanished. A second later the clouds above split and the Queen Angel floated down to the battlefield.

"Queen Angel, attack Luster Dragon!" Aki commanded. "Rose Trimmer!"

The Queen Angel flew forward and slashed the dragon in half with her sword. The two halves of the crystalline dragon shattered into bits of light.

"Now I activate my Trap, Blossom Bombardment!" Aki announced. "Since one of my Plant monsters destroyed a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!"

A patch of red flowers appeared at Raven's feet and exploded, dropping her life points to 2100. Aki was nervous that Raven was hurt in the explosion. But when the smoke cleared, Raven was unharmed and surrounded by a barrier of red light.

"See? Told you I'd be okay." Raven assured her as the barrier faded. "Now, is that all you've got?"

"I set one card and end my turn!" Aki announced.

"Looks like Raven kind of screwed up." Sect remarked on the sidelines.

"That's where you're wrong, runt." Crow smirked. "I'm sure she wasn't counting on the damage from Aki's Trap card, but I've got a feeling this is exactly what Raven wanted."

"You're pretty good." Raven remarked as she drew her card. "But I'm afraid you've played right into my hands."

"What do you mean?" Aki asked.

"Since you control a monster, I can Special Summon Vice Dragon from my hand." Raven announced. "The only catch though is its ATK is cut in half."

A fairly large dragon with rough purple scales appeared on Raven's side of the field. The insides of its wings were green and it had three horns on the back of its head.

"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Magna Drago!" Raven continued.

Appearing on Raven's field was yet another dragon with red scales the color of fire. It was a good deal smaller than Vice Dragon and had straight horns and slightly tattered wings.

"Now I activate my Trap, Birthright!" Raven announced. "This card lets me summon a Normal Monster card from my Graveyard. And of course the monster I'm going to summon is my Luster Dragon!"

A circle of golden light appeared on Raven's side of the battlefield. Luster Dragon flew up out of the hole and roared before taking a place between Vice Dragon and Magna Drago.

"Wait, did you want me to destroy Luster Dragon?" Aki suddenly realized.

"Yep. In order to pull off this next move, I needed all three monsters on the field." Raven confirmed. "But the only way to do it was to summon one of them from the Graveyard. Anyway, I now tune the level two Magna Drago into the level four Luster Dragon and level five Vice Dragon for a level eleven Synchro Summon!"

"Level eleven?" a shocked Aki repeated.

Magna Dragon flashed orange and changed into two rings of green light. The rings encircled the other two dragons, and in turn the dragons became nine balls of white light.

"Stars of destiny gather now as one! Come together to bring forth the guardian of the heavens!" Raven chanted. "Synchro Summon! Blaze to life, Celestial Dragon!"

The lights flashed and ignited into a single ball of crimson light that shot into the sky. The ball grew larger and brighter in a matter of seconds until it became a second sun that hung over the tower. Massive red wings burst forth from the sides of the star, followed by a dragon's head with four yellow eyes attached to a long neck.

"Whoa! That thing is huge!" Sect exclaimed. "And it has 3200 ATK points! I don't think I've ever seen Raven use this monster before."

"This is my first time seeing it in action too." Crow admitted. "Glad to see Raven's not holding anything back either."

"Celestial Dragon, strike down Queen Angel of Roses!" Raven commanded. "Crimson Flare!"

"I activate my Trap, Wall of Thorns!" Aki announced. "Since I have a Plant monster on my side of the field, all of my opponent's Attack Position monsters are destroyed!"

Celestial Dragon reared back its head and fired a massive red solar flare down at Queen Angel. A wall of thorn-covered vines suddenly shot up from the ground towards the star dragon. But the vines were burned to ashes before they could even reach their target. A moment later Queen Angel was struck by the flare and burned to ashes. The attack resulted in Aki's life points going down to 3200.

"What happened?" Aki wondered. "Why didn't my Trap work?"

"Celestial Dragon isn't fazed at all by other card effects while it's attacking." Raven explained. "So I'm afraid you just wasted your Trap. I'll end my turn here. Let's see if you can get out of this."

* * *

Yusei and Bruno's duel continued to rage on out over the Satellite wasteland. Bruno had managed to do a fair bit of damage to Yusei's life points, while Yusei had only gotten Bruno's life points down to 3000. Despite that, the duel looked as if it was about to take a significant turn. Bruno had two Synchro monsters out. One was a female Spellcaster called Tech Genus Wonder Magician, who had long pink hair wearing armored reddish-brown robes and four white mechanical wings. The other monster was Tech Genus Power Gladiator, a male axe-wielding warrior with dark hair and tan skin wearing brown armor. Both were powerful monsters, but Yusei had just summoned Stardust Dragon. And it was still his turn.

"I now activate a Trap, Synchro Strike!" Yusei announced. "This card gives Stardust Dragon 500 extra ATK points for each of its Synchro materials until the end of the turn, making its ATK 3500!"

"I now tune the level five Tech Genus Wonder Magician into the level five Tech Genus Power Gladiator for a level ten Synchro Summon!" Bruno suddenly announced.

"Wait, what?" Yusei exclaimed.

"Limiter Removal Ten! Main Base Booster Control! All Clear!" Bruno chanted as he suddenly sped up on his D-Wheel. "Infinite Power, unleashed here and now, break through this very dimension and beyond! Go! Accel Synchro!"

Bruno's speed continued to increase and his D-Wheel suddenly became shrouded in a reddish-pink light as Wonder Magician turned into green rings and encircled Power Gladiator. In less than a second Bruno and his monsters took off like a shooting star and vanished from sight. Before Yusei could figure out what happened, Bruno came up from behind him, bursting out of the same light that had enveloped him earlier. Flying along side Bruno was a new monster, a green and orange robot with a humanoid build. In its right hand the robot held a black gun with an energy blade at the end.

"Come on, Tech Genus Blade Blaster!" Bruno called out.

"I have no clue what you just did, but Stardust Dragon is still 200 points stronger than your new monster." Yusei pointed out. "Stardust Dragon, attack Blade Blaster with Shooting Sonic!"

"I now banish Tech Genus Warwolf from the Graveyard to remove Blade Blaster until the end of the turn!" Bruno announced.

Stardust Dragon reared back its head and fired a ray of glittering sound waves at Blade Blaster. But at the last second the robot suddenly vanished with a flash of orange light. The dragon's attack continued onward and hit Bruno. The strike had reduced his life points to zero. With the duel over, both riders came to a stop.

"Why did you do that?" Yusei asked. "You would've taken a lot less damage if you kept Blade Blaster on the field."

"But Blade Blaster still would've been destroyed." Bruno pointed out. "Besides, my objective wasn't to win. It was to show you an Accel Synchro Summon."

"Well that was a pretty outstanding move." Yusei admitted. "But why?"

Bruno took off his orange sunglasses and looked at Yusei with a grave expression. "Because you will need the power of Accel Synchro to defeat the Infinity Triad."

"Why should I worry about the triad?" Yusei asked.

"Don't think for a moment that they're no longer your problem just because you've escaped the Pit." Bruno told him. "They've set their sights on you, which means they must view you as a threat. The triad won't stop until they've destroyed you."

"Do you know something about the triad?" Yusei inquired.

"…I'm sure Crow or one of the others in the gang already told you. But I'm missing a good portion of my memory." Bruno went on after a moment. "The only things I know for certain aside from my name are my knowledge of D-Wheel technology and dueling. And as time has gone on and as I've spent more time with the Blackbird Gang I have become certain of one thing, whatever the triad is planning for both Satellite and Neo Domino must be stopped. I'm even more certain of that fact now after meeting you."

"Okay, so how do I do this Accel Synchro?" Yusei asked.

"There are three parts to the equation." Bruno explained. "The first part is the card I gave you when you first came to the Bird's Nest."

"You mean Formula Synchron." Yusei realized.

"Correct. The second part of the equation is speed." Bruno continued. "Unfortunately, while your D-Wheel was able to match the speed of my own, it doesn't seem quite up to the task of providing the speed needed."

"You're right. I really had to push to keep up with you." Yusei agreed. "Obviously the engine needs some kind of upgrade."

"It could probably use some new parts, but I think it might be a software problem." Bruno theorized. "If we could design a new engine program, that should do the trick."

"Okay. We can get to work on that when we get back to the garage." Yusei replied. "What's the third part of this equation?"

"We'll cover that another time." Bruno replied. "For now, let's just tackle the engine problem first."

* * *

Aki drew her next card, hoping to get something that could help her get rid of Raven's dragon. What she drew was a card that could help her play just the move she needed. Though Aki knew it would be a gamble. Yet there didn't seem to be much choice.

"I summon the Tuner monster, Twilight Rose Knight!" Aki announced.

Appearing on the field was a small almost child-like warrior with very pale blue hair. He was clad in very dark red, almost black armor, and carried a short sword.

"Because I summoned Twilight Rose Knight, I can now Special Summon a level four or lower Plant monster from my hand." Aki announced. "So now I summon Rose Paladin!"

Materializing next to Aki's knight was a beautiful yet well-muscled woman with tan skin and bright pink hair that was cut just above the shoulders. She was clad in pinkish armor that showed off her arms and legs, as well as her toned abs. Around her neck was a long red cape, and in her right hand she carried a large pinkish lance.

"I now tune the level three Twilight Rose Knight into the level four Rose Paladin for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Aki announced.

Twilight Rose Knight raised his sword into the air and changed into three rings of green light. The lights encircled Rose Paladin, causing her to change into four balls of light.

"Chilling Flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark Flower set into bloom!" Aki chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

The lights that were Aki's two original monsters flashed and burst into an inferno of purple flames. The flames cleared, and in their place was Aki's new rose petal-covered dragon.

"I now activate Black Rose Dragon's effect, Black Rose Gale!" Aki announced. "When Black Rose is Synchro summoned, she can destroy all cards on the field!"

Black Rose Dragon roared and soon a swirling wind filled with large rose petals picked up on the roof. The petals soared up into the air and bombarded Celestial Dragon. In a matter of seconds, the star dragon exploded in a burst of flames. At the same down on the roof, the storm caused by Black Rose had caused some of the rooftop furniture to be blown into the air. A large table suddenly came towards Crow and Sect and threatened to knock them off the roof. Out of panic and some sort of unknown instinct, Aki stretched her arm out to the table. Then all at once, all of the objects picked up by the storm dropped harmlessly to the ground. A second later, Black Rose Dragon shattered into bits of light.

"I… stopped it." Aki realized in a moment of shock. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're cool." Crow assured her with a thumbs-up.

"That was close." A somewhat shocked Sect remarked.

"Good job, Aki. You managed to control your powers a little and get rid of my dragon." Raven praised. "So have you got anything else for this turn, or was that it?"

"…No, I end my turn." Aki replied after a moment with a smile.

"That was a pretty good move using Black Rose Dragon like that." Raven remarked as she drew her card. "But you've left yourself pretty wide open. I summon Red-Eyes Black Chick!"

A large red egg materialized on Raven's side of the battlefield. The egg hatched into a tiny black dragon with striking red eyes.

"I now send Red-Eyes Black Chick to the Graveyard to Special Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Raven announced.

The newly hatched dragon suddenly glowed with a golden light and grew at an incredible speed. In seconds it had become a fully-grown black dragon with a long narrow neck and large wings.

"Red-Eyes! Attack Aki directly!" Raven commanded. "Black Fire Bullet!"

The black dragon whipped back its neck and shot a large ball of molten red fire from its jaws. The fireball struck Aki and reduced her life points to 800.

"That's ends my turn." Raven announced.

Aki drew her next card. "I set one monster on the field and end my turn."

"That's it?" Raven asked with a quirked brow as she drew her card. "Okay then. Red-Eyes! Attack Aki's monster with Black Fire Bullet!"

Red-Eyes whipped its head around and fired shot another fireball down at Aki's monster. Before being hit, the monster was revealed to be a small bird-like dragon with a black head and a body covered in blue rose petals.

"Was that monster…?" a surprised Raven began to ask.

"Blue Rose Dragon." Aki nodded. "And because you destroyed it, I can now Special Summon Black Rose Dragon from the Graveyard."

In a burst of purple flames, Black Rose Dragon roared back onto the field. Both dragons glared at one another from across the field.

"Crow, honey, why didn't you tell me that we had Blue Rose Dragon in the card storehouse?" Raven asked with a somewhat insincere smile.

"Hey, I can't keep track of all the cards our guys lift from Security." Crow shrugged.

"Oh well." Raven shrugged. "Looks like things have gotten pretty even now. Both our monsters have 2400 ATK. That's pretty much all I can do this turn."

Aki drew from her deck, hoping to get just the right card that could bring the duel to a close. She smiled when she saw just what card she had gotten.

"I activate the Spell card, Card Rotator!" Aki announced. "By sending a card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can switch the battle positions of all my opponent's monsters."

"Well, I guess that'll help get rid of Red-Eyes, since its DEF isn't as good as its ATK." Sect remarked.

"I think there's a bit more to this move than just that." Crow theorized.

"I now activate Black Rose Dragon's second effect!" Aki announced. "I banish Rose Fairy from the Graveyard to switch Red-Eyes to Attack Mode and make its ATK zero!"

A ghostly version of Rose Fairy appeared on the field before Black Rose Dragon. Black Rose devoured the fairy and then launched its many thorn-covered tails at the other dragon to restrain it.

"Black Rose Dragon, attack Red-Eyes with Black Rose Flare!" Aki commanded.

Black Rose reared back its head and launched a stream of fire at Red-Eyes. The other dragon shattered to bits and the flames continued on towards Raven. The raven-haired duelist was struck and her remaining life points dropped to zero. With the duel over, Black Rose Dragon vanished.

"That was a pretty fun duel." Raven declared.

"Yeah." Aki agreed. "That's actually the first time I've had fun dueling in a long time."

"So, you wanna get back to the training?" Raven asked. "It might be a little easier after the way you stopped that table."

"Sure." Aki agreed. "Right now I feel like I can do just about anything?"

* * *

Aki shot up in bed in a cold sweat. It took her a moment to realize she was in her room at the Bird's nest. The light of the moon was still streaming in though the window behind her bed. It had been the same nightmare she had experienced in the nights before. It always started out the same. First she would relive the conditioning Placido had put her through to fight Yusei, then Aki would find herself standing over Yusei's lifeless corpse, his blood staining her hands.

After breathing a sigh of relief that it was only another nightmare, Aki got out of bed. The hour was still very late, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, at least not alone. Quietly, Aki left her apartment and crept down the hall, still wearing only the red tank top and pink shorts she had worn to sleep. In moments she had reached Yusei's room. Hesitantly, Aki tried the knob. The door opened right up.

Slowly Aki made her way through the apartment to Yusei's bedroom. She found that the door was open a crack. Aki gently pushed the door, causing it to creak just enough to wake Yusei.

"Aki? What are you doing here?" Yusei asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, well… I was having trouble sleeping." Aki nervously explained. "So I was hoping that maybe I could… spend the rest of the night here."

"Yeah, okay." Yusei agreed. "I can go sleep on the couch."

"Well actually… I was hoping you and I could… sleep together." Aki revealed as her face turned a deep red. "I mean not like _that_, but… you know. I mean your bed looks big enough, so…"

"Oh…" Yusei replied as his own face turned red. "Sure. That's… that's fine."

"Thanks." Aki sighed as she made her way over.

As soon as Aki got into the bed, Yusei pulled the blanket over them both. Aki cuddled up to Yusei, resting her head on his shoulder. Yusei put his arm around her and slowly Aki drifted back to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The reason why I didn't show the whole duel between Yusei and Bruno was because I felt like it would've been rehashing the original anime episode. As for Aki and Raven's duel, Celestial Dragon is a real card. It's coming out in one of the latest ZEXAL era booster sets, _Judgement of the Light_. When I saw a picture of the card I thought it'd make a good personification of the Crimson Dragon. So I decided to use it as one of Raven's cards.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	14. Placido's Challenge

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Especially The Immortal Siegfried, who pointed out that I made a small error when I wrote Aki and Raven's duel. The error has since been corrected.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 13: Placido's Challenge

Placido stood on a hill overlooking the Bird's Nest. A wicked smile was on his face. Since the night Yusei had escaped the Pit with the unexpected help of the Crimson Dragon, Placido had put a good deal of energy into finding out where he had escaped. For weeks, the second youngest-looking member of the Infinity Triad had been hitting dead ends. But the previous afternoon, Placido and his two comrades had detected a large spike of Momentum energy in an area near the Bird's Nest. Seeing it as a good lead, Placido went to check out the disturbance himself. And it not take him long to confirm that Yusei was indeed staying at the old apartment building.

The moon hung high above as Placido looked at the old tower. He was quite pleased with finding Yusei. All that was left was to challenge him and get revenge. As Placido continued to gaze at the tower, Lucciano appeared next to him.

"You finally seem like you're in a good mood." Lucciano remarked. "Ever since Fudo and his friends got away, you've been practically impossible to live with."

"I've finally found where Yusei is." Placdio replied with an eager expression. "He's been hiding here this whole time."

"Well good for you. I'm guessing you're going to challenge him." Lucciano assumed.

"When the right time comes." Placido confirms. "So is there a reason why you've come here?"

"Jose wants to know if you've found out anything about that energy spike from before." Lucciano answered. "But I can see why that would be low on your list of priorities at the moment."

"The old man worries too much." Placido chuckled. "Whatever caused that spike, I'm sure its nothing we can't handle."

"Well then, I guess I'll leave you to your plotting." Lucciano shrugged before vanishing.

* * *

Yusei rode his D-Wheel out over the Satellite wasteland at top speed under the midday sun. It was all to test out the engine modifications that he and Bruno had made. And so far they had been working perfectly. It had taken a little over a week to perfect the engine program they made to improve the D-Wheel's performance. As Yusei brought his latest test run to a close, he found he couldn't stop thinking about Aki.

That night when Aki entered Yusei's apartment to spend the night was not the last. And it was not very long before the two of them decided to share an apartment for the sake of convenience. Almost every night since that time though, Aki would wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. Just what the nightmares were about, Aki wouldn't say. And though Yusei was content to let Aki tell him when she was ready, he couldn't help but grow more concerned.

Just as the Bird's Nest came back into view, Yusei spied a white D-Wheel that was fast approaching from the opposite direction. It was only a matter of seconds before Yusei could make out the rider. He was wearing a silver helmet instead of his normal white hood, but there was no mistaking that the rider was Placido. The two of them met half way and brought their D-Wheels to a stop.

"At last we meet again, Yusei." Placido greeted. "It seems that you've finally finished improving your D-Wheel."

"What do you want?" Yusei demanded to know.

"You and I have a score to settle. And I think that time has now come" Placido replied. "I challenge you to a duel."

"And if I refuse?" Yusei asked.

"You're probably not aware of this, but recently the normal Security Force here on Satellite has been replaced by an army of automated robots." Placido revealed. "They're called the Diablo, and my fellow triad members have complete control over them. Refuse my challenge, and I won't hesitate to send my mechanical army to destroy your little nest. Or all of Satellite, for that matter."

"Then I guess I don't have much choice." Yusei observed. "Fine, I'll take you on!"

"Meet me back here in an hour." Placido told him. "Try and take the time to improve your deck. I want to face you at full strength. After all, why do you think I watched and waited until you finished upgrading your D-Wheel to challenge you?"

With that, Placido drove off at top speed. Yusei continued on towards the Bird's Nest with his thoughts now focused on the duel that was to come. Placido was right about one thing. They did have a score to settle. There was a part of Yusei that wanted to make Placido pay for what he did to Aki. And it seemed like he was finally going to get that chance.

As soon as he got back to the Bird's Nest, Yusei told Crow and the others of Placido's challenge, and what would happen if he didn't accept it. After informing his friends just what was at stake, he went down to the card storehouse to upgrade his deck. As Yusei finished up, Bruno walked into the room.

"Come to wish me luck?" Yusei asked.

"More than that. I think it's time I told you the final part of the equation for Accel Synchro." Bruno replied. "The key to performing it is controlling the Momentum energy produced by the D-Wheel. And to do that, one must have a Clear Mind."

"Clear Mind?" Yusei repeated.

"When the time comes, just feel the wind and focus." Bruno told him. "Only then, will you be able to achieve Accel Synchro."

"Thanks. I'll remember that." Yusei replied with a thumbs-up.

Bruno nodded and left the room. Only moments later, Aki walked in with a worried expression on her face.

"So… you think you're ready?" she asked.

"I think so." Yusei replied as he made one final check of his deck. "I have no clue what kind of strategy Placido is going to be using. But hopefully this newly improved deck should do it."

"Just be careful, okay?" Aki requested as she walked up to him. "Placido… he's a monster. And I don't think I could take it if anything happened to you."

With that, Yusei pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry. I promise I'll come back."

"You better." Aki replied with a small smile. After a moment the two of them shared a brief yet deep kiss. "I love you. You know that?"

"I love you too." Yusei replied as he brushed her cheek with his hand to wipe away a tear. "I better get going now."

"Okay. I'll be cheering for you." Aki assured him.

* * *

Aki reached the roof of the Bird's Nest to find Crow, Raven, and Kiryu up there with Bruno and Sect. Bruno was busy setting up a box-like machine with a large monitor, while the others were looking out over the desolate landscape using binoculars.

"There. Now we should be able to see what cards Yusei and Placido play in the duel." Bruno informed them as he finished work on the device. "We also should be able to hear everything Yusei and Placido say, too."

"Will we be able to talk to Yusei?" Aki asked.

"Yes, communication should be possible using the microphone attached to the side of the monitor." Bruno answered. "Though we won't be able to communicate with Placido."

"Who'd want to talk to that jerk?" Sect pointed out.

"I don't suppose Yusei will be able to talk back to us." Kiryu assumed.

"No. I'm afraid communication is only going to be one way." Bruno confirmed.

"Well, at least we'll be able to cheer Yusei on." Raven pointed out. "That should be good enough."

"Raven's right." Crow agreed. "Now let's just watch Yusei as he kicks Placido's ass!"

* * *

Yusei waited on the back of his parked D-Wheel for Placido to arrive. He didn't wait long though. Only moments after arriving at the designated spot, he saw Placido approach on his white D-Wheel, leaving a huge trail of dust behind as he approached.

"I see you've been waiting for me." Placido greeted as he pulled up. "Good. I'm dying to get this duel started."

"The first one who reaches that old piece of rubble over there goes first." Yusei proposed as he pointed at the piece of a shattered building in the distance.

"Fine with me." Placido agreed.

With that, both duelists took off towards what would be the starting point of the duel. Almost as soon as they began, a glowing white infinity symbol appeared around them for a moment as they rose side-by-side. As they sped towards the rubble, Placido suddenly repositioned himself on his cycle as if he were riding a horse and drew his sword.

"Allow me to show you the full extent of my power!" Placido spoke as he inserted the blade of his sword into the front end of his D-Wheel.

Suddenly Placido was shrouded in what looked like a sort of green computer code. He leapt high into the air as his helmet vanished, revealing a head of spiked silver hair. Placido's legs changed and bent in a way that was impossible for a human being. At the same time, the front end of his D-Wheel had changed as well. With the cycle's transformation finished, Placido came down and inserted his lower half into the D-Wheel's front end. Once he had docked, four thick black cables shot up from the rear end of the cycle and plugged themselves into sockets that had appeared on Placido's back. Lastly, the handle of Placido's sword changed and formed a screen of green energy to act as the duel consol.

"Behold! This is the ultimate form of the D-Wheel!" Placido declared. "The perfect combination of rider and machine!"

"What the hell are you?" a stunned Yusei asked.

"I am your destruction." Placido smirked. "Now, let us begin!"

Yusei quickly put Placido's unexpected transformation out of his mind and focused on task at hand. The starting point of the duel was coming up quickly. Almost at the last moment, Yusei accelerated past Placido and took the first corner around the debris. The first turn was his. Placido scowled as he followed behind.

"Track Field, activate!" Yusei called as he put a card into his D-Wheel consol. "Junk City!"

In moments the surrounding wasteland completely transformed. A concrete road appeared beneath them, and all around sprang up tall buildings and skyscrapers that looked as if they were patched together from pieces of junk and scrap metal.

"I summon Junk Armor in Defense Mode and end my turn!" Yusei announced. The clunky suit of armor materialized next to Yusei.

"I'll admit that this Track Field is a little more impressive than the one you used down in the Pit." Placido remarked as he drew his first card. "But it seems that you're still using your old tactics. I summon Apocalypse Droid-HK in Attack Mode!"

Appearing alongside Pladico was a robot with a thin humanoid build. Its neck, torso, forearms, and lower legs were all black, white its head, upper arms, and upper legs were white. Its head was shaped like a camera and had a large red lens for an eye. Mounted on the robot's left forearm was a large laser cannon, and on the top of its torso near its shoulders were two small missile launchers.

"1800 ATK is more than enough to finish off your little suit of armor." Placido observed. "Apocalypse Droid-HK, attack Junk Armor with Death Laser!"

The droid extended its left arm and fired a thin red beam at Junk Armor's chest. The suit of armor began to glow hot red and exploded in a burst of flames.

"That's not all. When Apocalypse Droid-HK destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage, equal to half the destroyed monster's DEF points!" Placdio revealed.

The launcher ports on the droid's shoulders opened up and Yusei was hit with a barrage of red missiles. Yusei skidded as the missiles exploded all around him on the road. When the barrage finally ended, Yusei's life points had dropped to 3400.

"That end's my turn." Placido announced.

"I now activate one of the effects of Junk City!" Yusei announced. "At the end of a turn when one of my Junk monsters is destroyed in battle, I can summon it back to the field in Defense Mode!"

A ball of blue light came down from the top of one of the scrap metal skyscrapers and landed beside Yusei. In moments the light faded and changed into the previously slain Junk Armor.

"How predictable." Placido remarked. "Once again you recycle your weak monsters in preparation for a wretched Synchro Summon. But in this duel, it will be your downfall."

Yusei payed no attention to Placido's comment and drew his next card. "I summon the Tuner monster, Junk Changer, in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the track was a black and grey robot with a barrel-shaped torso. Its head was cylindrical and it had thick cable-like arms and legs that ended in large hands and feet.

"Since I control another Junk monster, I can shift Junk Changer's level up or down by one level!" Yusei announced. "So now I shift Junk Changer's level from three to four! Next I tune the level four Junk Changer into the level two Junk Armor for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Junk Changer brought its two large hands together and flashed orange, transforming into four rings of green light. The rings encircled Junk Armor and changed the metal suit into two balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Mighty Warrior!"

The lights flashed with a blinding light and cleared to reveal Yusei's cybernetic warrior.

"Time for you to take some damage!" Yusei declared. "Mighty Warrior! Attack Apocalypse Droid-HK with Mighty Knuckle!"

"An impressive move. But I'm afraid that when Apocalypse Droid-HK is targeted for an attack, it automatically self destructs!"

Mighty Warrior charged at the droid and raised its metal fist to attack. But at the last second, Apocalypse Droid-HK exploded in a flash of fire and smoke. After a moment the smoke cleared, and standing in the droid's place was a much larger robot. It was white in color and had a humanoid build. The machine's legs were almost stilt-like and ended in points. Its head was shaped almost like a snake and its face was black with glowing red lines. A single slender blade was mounted on the robot's left forearm, while its right forearm was shaped almost like a shield. But what Yusei noticed about the machine was its torso. On the front of its spherical torso was a black window in the shape of an infinity symbol, and glowing inside was a blue-green light.

"What just happened?" Yusei wondered.

"When one of my monsters is destroyed by a card effect, even its own, I can Special Summon Meklord Emperor Wisel from my hand." Placido explained.

A bell went off in Yusei's mind upon hearing the name of Placido's robot. He had heard the name before. It was the monster Aki had fused with Rosaria during their dark duel down in the Pit. Though Yusei had not seen the monster itself used, so he didn't know anything about its effects. All Yusei knew for sure about Wisel was that it had 2500 ATK, which meant that Mighty Warrior was no match for it.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Yusei announced.

Placido chuckled as he drew his next card. "For my first move, I summon Apocalypse Droid-Retaliator in Defense Mode!"

Materializing onto the track was another robot that was black and white in color. The upper part of its body had a slightly humanoid shape, while its lower half had tank treads instead of legs. Its slender white arms ended in large clamp-like hands, and rather than a face, the front of the robot's white head had a single large red lens. Mounted on its shoulders was a pair of long narrow black cannons.

"Next I activate Wisel's effect and equip it with Mighty Warrior!" Placido announced.

The front of Wisel's chest stretched open, and suddenly the robot launched several cables of blue-green light that ensnared Mighty Warrior. The cybernetic fighter struggled in vein as Wisel reeled it in, and in moments he was turned into energy and sucked into the robot's chest.

"When Wisel is equipped with a Synchro monster, that monster's ATK is added to its own." Placido revealed. "Which means Wisel's ATK is now 4700. Wisel, attack Yusei directly!"

"I activate my Trap, Scrapiron Scarecrow!" Yusei announced. "This card negates an attack then sets itself back on the field!"

Wisel lunged at Yusei with its sword arm raised. But just as the machine was about to swing down its blade, Yusei's scarecrow of junk appeared and the blade hit an invisible barrier. With the attack over, the scarecrow vanished and the large representation of Yusei's Trap set itself back onto the field.

"I had a feeling that's what the card you set was, which is why I summoned my Retaliator before." Placido revealed. "Once per turn, when one of my attacks is negated, Apocalypse Droid-Retaliator inflicts 500 points of damage."

The front of the retaliator's chest opened up to reveal a cluster of small red missiles, which were fired at the same time as the laser cannons mounted at its shoulders. Yusei cried out as the barrage hit him, swerving his D-Wheel to try and avoid the missile impacts. When it was all over, his life points had dropped to 2900.

"While you spent your week trying to improve the performance of your D-Wheel, I spent mine studying each and every duel you had down in the Pit." Placido revealed. "I know each and every move you might make. In the end, all humans are predictable. From the moment they are born, they follow a path called destiny. And no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape it."

"You're wrong! Anyone can change destiny as long as they believe!" Yusei argued.

"So naive." Placido scoffed. "In the end, you will lose this duel. Nothing you can do can change that outcome."

"I will defeat you!" Yusei declared. "And then I'll make you pay for everything you've done to Aki!"

"Ah, I should've known you'd be mad at me about that." Placido chuckled. "After all, I did brainwash her and murdered her parents years ago."

"You… what?" a shocked Yusei asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I assumed our dear Aki told you." Placido grinned. "Her father, the late Senator Izayoi, dug a little too deeply into the affairs of myself and my fellow triad members. So he and his wife had to be eliminated. Aki's powers made an excellent cover."

"So you just let Aki spend her life thinking that she was responsible for killing her parents?" Yusei angrily asked.

"It was nothing personal." Placido replied. "And in the long run, she proved quite useful to me. Besides, you should be a bit glad. Had I not killed Aki's parents, the two of you would've never have met."

* * *

Aki and the others watching the duel had heard everything Placido had just revealed to Yusei. Everyone looked to her out of concern and surprise.

"Aki, is what Placido just said true?" Raven asked. "Did he really kill your parents?"

"I… I don't know." Aki admitted. "When he told me just before he started brainwashing me, I believed him. I was so angry I attacked him using my powers. But when I thought about it later, I wasn't sure. Part of what Placido said didn't really make sense. My parents died years ago, but Placido doesn't look that old. So I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. That's why I never told Yusei about it."

"You do have a point." Crow agreed. "Your parents died over ten years ago, and Placido looks to be about as old as we are. I think he's just yanking Yusei's chain."

"No, it's very possible that Placido killed Aki's parents." Bruno disagreed. "Don't ask me how I know, because I'm not really sure myself. But I'm sure he could've done it."

"I think Bruno might be right." Kiryu agreed. "We all saw Placido combine with his D-Wheel through our binoculars. I don't know what Placido is, but I don't think he's human."

* * *

A spark went off in Yusei's mind upon hearing what Placido had just told him. He had just admitted to causing Aki to suffer and was smiling about it. At that moment, Yusei didn't just want to defeat Placido. He wanted to destroy him.

"I end my turn." Placido announced. "Go ahead. Give me your best shot."

Yusei drew his next card and looked at his hand. He knew if he was going to take down Placido, the first thing he had to do was eliminate Wisel. And upon examining his hand, he saw one good way he could do it.

"First I summon Max Warrior in Attack Mode!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on the field was a warrior with a grey stone-like mask for a face and glowing red eyes. He had large grey shoulder pads with a single large spike, and on his hands he wore thick brown elbow-high gloves. The warrior had on brown knee-high boots, and dropping behind him from his waist was a long green cloth. In his right hand, he wielded a long grey staff that ended in a U-shape up at the top.

"Next I discard Stardust Xiaolong from my hand to Special Summon the Tuner, Jackie Jumper!" Yusei announced. The ski-jumping robot appeared next to Max Warrior. "Now I tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level four Max Warrior for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Jackie Jumper flashed orange and changed into three green rings of light. The rings surrounded Max Warrior and caused him to change into four balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of the ultimate swordsman! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Awaken, Seven Swords Warrior!"

The lights flashed into a blinding white light. When it cleared, standing on the field was a warrior clad in magnificent golden armor. Large panels of armor were mounted on his shoulders, and in each hand he wielded a large blade. He also hand another sword inside a sheath mounted on his back.

"I now equip Seven Swords Warrior with Junk Barrage!" Yusei announced. "And when Seven Swords Warrior is equipped with a card, he inflicts 800 points of damage to my opponent!"

The golden swordsman glowed with a green aura and clapped his hands together. A blade of gold light shot from the warrior's hands and struck Placido, causing his life points to drop to 3200. Yet a smile remained on the mechanical duelist's face.

"Now I activate the second effect of Seven Swords Warrior!" Yusei announced. "By sending a card equipped to him to the Graveyard, I can destroy one monster on the field! And the monster I choose to destroy is Wisel!"

The green aura that was shining from Seven Swords Warrior began to gather into a ball between his hands. Once the ball was fully formed, he threw it at Wisel. The white robot exploded in a blast of fire and smoke. But when the smoke cleared, Wisel was still staing on the field. Though its form had changed. Its head was no longer snake-like and set a little deeper into its torso. On its sides were short lightning bolt-shaped horns. Its left forearm had gained more blades while the shield on its right had become a bit larger. A pair of missile launchers had been mounted near its shoulders, and it had four slender double-jointed legs instead of its original two.

"What… happened?" a shocked Yusei asked.

"By destroying Wisel with a card effect, you allowed me to summon Wisel MK-II from my deck." Placido explained. "How pathetic. Once again, you relied on the power of your wretched Synchro monsters, only for you to fail and make things far worse. By the time I'm through, you will see that the power of Synchro Summoning will only bring death and despair!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The duel for this chapter and the next, was especially hard to write, which is why this chapter is up a day later than I had originally planed. I'm sure everyone noticed that Wisel was depicted as a single monster, like in the actual card game, rather than being made of multiple parts. One of the reasons for this is because I felt like having Wisel as multiple monsters would just be rehashing the original duel from the anime. Instead, what I decided to do was just give Wisel a single upgraded form. Wisel MK-II's design was based heavily on the upgraded form from the anime. The big difference here though is that Wisel MK-II has four legs instead of Skiel's wings.

Anyway, having Wisel as a single card meant that I had to come up with a new deck for Placido to use. Thus I came up with the Apocalypse Droids. I wanted monsters that would best represent the period from Aporia's life that Placido embodies. I'm not sure if I'll have Lucciano and Jose use Apocalypse Droid monster as well, but right now I kinda doubt it. Over the course of outlining the duel, I ended up rewriting many card effects and even came up with a whole new Track Field Spell for Yusei to use. There was even going to be a Wisel MK-III, but it just made things way too complicated. In fact MK-II's effect has almost been completely rewritten from what it originally was.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	15. Clear Mind

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed last time. Especially SulliMike23, who made a guess that the "HK" in Apocalypse Droid-HK's name referred to "HK-47". A good guess, but actually HK is short for Hunter-Killer. It's a term used to refer to a type of robot in a sci-fi story I can't quite remember. I think it might be _Terminator_, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. If it is though, that'd be extremely appropriate.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven was created by sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 14: Clear Mind

"I assume you're not going to attack now that Wisel MK-II is on the field. So why don't you just end your turn here?" Placido suggested.

Yusei gritted his teeth. He knew he had screwed up. He had allowed his anger at Placdio had caused him to rush in and not take into account any contingency plan Placido might have in case Wisel was destroyed. The smarter move probably would've been to defend and try and buy time. But what was done was done. Yusei looked at his hand. All he had left was a single monster.

"I end my turn." Yusei finally announced.

Placdio chuckled as he drew his next card. "I summon Apocalypse Droid-Scavenger in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on the field to move alongside Placido and his two machines was a small white automated vehicle with three pairs of thick black wheels, and on its back was the type of container one might find on the back of a dump truck. On its front end instead of a cab was a round ball with a large red lens on the front and a pair of long cable-like arms that ended in three-pronged claws.

"I now activate the effect of Apocalypse Droid-Scavenger and return Apocalypse Droid-HK to my hand!" Placdio announced. "Next I activate a Spell card, Apocalypse Bombing! By discarding one or more Apocalypse Droid monsters from my hand, I can inflict 500 points of damage for each droid discarded. So I now discard Apocalypse Droid-HK and Apocalypse Droid-Mine Sweeper!"

Falling out of the sky towards Yusei were two large white metal spheres, each with a red lens for an eye. The two bombs impacted the ground around Yusei and exploded in a blast of fire, smoke, and dust, causing Yusei's D-Wheel to wobble. Yusei made it through the blast, but his life points had fallen to 1900.

"Now I activate the effect of Wisel MK-II and equip it with Seven Swords Warrior!" Placido announced.

Wisel's chest opened up and snared the golden swordsman with its energy cables. Seven Swords Warrior struggled before being converted to energy and getting sucked inside the white robot.

"Since its absorbed your wretched Synchro monster, Wisel's ATK rises from 2600 to 4900." Placido revealed. "Next I activate Wisel's effect to destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card and remove your meddlesome Scrapiron Scarecrow!"

A thin red beam of light shot from Wisel's face and landed on the large face down card that represented Yusei's Trap card. The card exploded in a flash of flames and vanished.

"Wisel, attack Yusei directly!" Placido commanded. "Blade of Despair!"

"Since I'm being attacked directly, I Special Summon Junk Defender from my hand in Defense Mode!" Yusei quickly announced.

Just as Wisel was about to swing down at Yusei with its blades, Yusei's white-headed robot suddenly appeared on the field and attempted to block the attack with its thick rust-colored arms. Wisel's blades struck and Junk Defender shattered into bits of light.

"I was hoping you'd block my attack." Placido admitted. "I want this duel to last for as long as possible. Since a monster was destroyed while battling Wisel, you now take damage equal to the number of Machine monsters I have on the field times 100."

The missile ports near Wisel's shoulders opened up and fired a barrage at Yusei. The small projectiles bombarded him and reduced his life points to 1600.

"I'll end this turn by setting one card on the field." Placido announced.

"Since you're ending this turn, I summon Junk Defender back to the field with the effect of Junk City!" Yusei announced.

A ball of blue light flew down from the top of one of the scrap metal skyscrapers and took the form of Junk Defender. Yusei drew his next card. It was nothing he could use to get rid of Wisel, but could at least use it to try and buy some time.

"I summon Junk Blader in Defense Mode and end my turn." Yusei announced. The purple armored warrior materialized on the field in a kneeling position.

Placido drew his next card. "By sacrificing your Junk Defender, I now summon Apocalypse Droid-Infiltrator to your side of the field in Defense Mode!"

Junk Defender suddenly burst into bits of light and vanished. Standing in its place was a white android with a very feminine build. Its head had no features, and around its neck was a shorter version of the loop-shaped collar that Placido wore. Suddenly, the android's head shimmered and took on a very human appearance. Her head had burgundy-red hair that was long in front and had a very unique ornament rolled into it. Her eyes were a golden-yellow, and Yusei instantly recognized the face.

"Aki?" a surprised Yusei identified.

"I thought you would appreciate that little touch." Placido chuckled. "Now then, in exchange for giving you Infiltrator, two Machine-type Apocalypse Tokens are summoned to my side of the field in Defense Mode."

Appearing on the field alongside Placido were two identical human-shaped robots with a very skeletal build. They were both white in color, and on the front of each droid's round head was a large red lens.

"Now, since I could kill the real Aki Izayoi, I now have Wisel attack Apocalypse Droid-Infiltrator!" Placido announced. "Blade of Despair!"

Wisel quickly loomed forward and slashed the infiltrator android across the chest with its blade. The female android screamed in pain before exploding in a burst of fire, horrifying Yusei. The more rational part of his mind knew that it wasn't the real Aki that was destroyed. Yet Yusei still couldn't help but be affected by the sight.

"Because another monster was destroyed by battling Wisel, Wisel's effect now inflicts 500 points of damage!" Placido gleefully announced.

The missile ports on Wisel's shoulders opened up and fired another barrage of small red missiles at Yusei. Yusei cried out as he was struck, and when it was finally over his life points had fallen to 1100.

"And now, I activate my Trap, Tragedy of Lost Love!" Placido announced.

The illustration on the large Trap card depicted a young man on his knees, crying out in rage and sorrow had he held the body of a young woman with dark hair. Both of the figures were wearing what looked like military uniforms, and the young woman looked as though she had been shot through the chest by something. Yusei couldn't help but notice how the male figure in the picture bared a strong resemblance to Placido.

"When one of my Machine monsters destroys an opponent's monster in battle, Tragedy of Lost Love forces another of my opponent's monsters to attack the Machine monster that just did battle, regardless of its battle position." Placido explained. "Which means your Junk Blader is now going to attack Wisel!"

Junk Blader suddenly stood up and cried out as his eyes flashed red. He jumped into the air at Wisel with his sword raised high in the air.

"Another one of the effects of Junk City prevents me from taking battle damage once per turn when one of my Junk monsters is destroyed in battle!" Yusei quickly revealed.

"Fine, but you'll still take another 500 points of damage from Wisel's effect." Placido pointed out.

Once he was in range, Junk Blader brought down his sword and struck Wisel near its head. When the blade hit, it created a blinding explosion of blue-green light that filled the whole area.

* * *

_The light from Junk Blader's attack finally faded, and Yusei suddenly found that he was riding his D-Wheel through the sky alone. He looked down and saw that there was a city below him. It looked a little like Neo Domino, but the buildings were far more technologically advanced. Yusei glanced around and saw a long wide highway on a bridge over the water. The bridge was filled with Turbo Duelists that were all having it out. And almost all of them were summoning some kind of Synchro monster._

_"What's going on?" Yusei wondered. "What is all this?"_

_"You asked me what I am. So now I'm showing you." Placido's voice explained. "This is what you would consider to be the future. Years from now, Synchro monsters start to become more and more popular. It wasn't long before they became the staple of every duelist's deck. But something happened that the human race didn't anticipate. The sheer amount of Synchro Summoning caused Momentum reactors all around the word to begin spinning backwards, threatening to cause a Zero Reverse a million times worse than the one that created Neo Domino and Satellite."_

_Suddenly there came another blinding flash of blue-green light. When it cleared, Yusei saw that he was still above the same futuristic city, but the bridge below was empty and the sky was filled with large robots. The machines came in three varieties, and the first one was identical to Wisel's original form. The other two types of robots were similar in design to Wisel but distinctly different. One variety was blue and greatly resembled a bird. The other was golden yellow in color and far bulkier than the first two. Its lower half looked to be a pair of large hover boosters that almost looked like they formed a sort of skirt. Its thick left arm ended in a sort of laser cannon, while the right ended in a shield. The front of its narrow head had a single red eye. Yusei was horrified to see that all three types of robots were laying waste to the city below._

_"Somehow, the system that managed the Momentum reactors determined that the cause of the problem was the human race itself." Placido's voice continued. "Thus it created a means to slaughter humanity, the Meklord Emperors. Tried as they might, the human race could not destroy the Meklords. In the span of a few years, the population was reduced to mere handfuls. Humanity had all but lost. Though a few still fought to put an end to the machines that were exterminating them."_

_Another wave of blue-green light hit Yusei like a wave. When it cleared, he found that he was standing inside of a crumbled building with a large hole in one of the walls that showed a destroyed city under a thick grey sky. There were two people inside the structure with Yusei, both of them wearing some sort of military uniforms. One of the soldiers was a young woman with dark hair. Yusei was shocked to find that the other solder was Placido. Placido looked far different from how Yusei knew him though. The eyepiece over his right eye was missing and his skin wasn't as pale._

_Placdio and his companion did not seem to notice that Yusei was in the room with them. They smiled at one another, but quickly turned their attention to the city outside when they heard some sort of engine noise approaching. Quickly coming into view was one of the large golden-yellow Meklord Emperor robots. Placido's female companion raised the bazooka she was holding and fired a shot at the robot. The round hit but didn't leave a scratch. In turn, the Meklord fired its laser and struck down Placido's companion. Out of rage, a tear-streaked Placido raised the gun he was carrying and cried out as he fired at the robot in vein. The Meklord aimed its cannon down at Placdio. But before the machine could fire, the area was enveloped in another blinding flash of light._

* * *

Yusei found he was back in the duel, riding the back of his D-Wheel once more. He had no monsters left, and his life points were down to a mere 600. Yusei looked back at Placido and saw that the mechanical duelist was scowling.

"So what, you're trying to tell me that you're from the future?" Yusei asked.

"That's right." Placido confirmed with a hint of anger. "What you just saw was the despair I experienced in a futile battle to save the human race. The same kind of despair I tried to make you experience down in the Pit."

"So if these Meklords are responsible for killing the human race in the future, than why are you using one of them in your deck?" Yusei pointed out.

"Because those machines represent my despair, and despair is all I have left!" Placido told him. "And it is my despair that I will use to burn Neo Domino and Satellite to the ground!"

"What do you mean?" Yusei demanded to know.

"You think I came back from the future for no reason?" Placido pointed out. "I failed to save the human race in my own time, but I can still do it in this one. And the only way to do that is to extinguish the birthplace of the Momentum Reactor before the technology can spread!"

"I can't say that I entirely believe this story of yours. But if you're really going to try and destroy Neo Domino and Satellite, than that's all the more reason for me to stop you!" Yusei declared.

"Just try it then!" Placido dared. "I end my turn!"

"Then since you're ending your turn, I summon Junk Blader back to the field with the effect of Junk City!" Yusei announced.

Another ball of blue light came down from one of the skyscrapers and took the form of Junk Blader. After quickly thinking through the whole situation, Yusei could only see one way out. And that was to try the technique Bruno had shown him, Accel Synchro. But before he could even attempt it, he would need just the right card. Yusei took a deep breath and drew from his deck. When he saw the card he got, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"First I summon the Tuner monster, Righty Driver!" Yusei announced. The small screwdriver robot materialized onto the field. "Next I activate the third effect of Junk City! Since I still have Junk monster on the field, I can Special Summon a level three or lower Tuner from my Graveyard at the cost of my Battle Phase! So now I summon Junk Changer back to the field!"

A hole of golden light appeared by Junk Blader as the two duelists continued down the track. Yusei's barrel-shaped robot emerged through the portal before it disappeared.

"I activate Junk Changer's effect and shift its level from three to four!" Yusei announced. "I now tune the level four Junk Changer into the level four Junk Blader for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Junk Changer slammed its fists together and flashed orange before turning into four rings of green light. The rings encircled Junk Blader and caused the armored warrior to become four balls of white light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights that were once the two Junk monsters flashed into a blinding white light. When the light cleared, Stardust Dragon roared onto the field.

"Because I just Synchro Summoned Stardust Dragon, I now summon Stardust Xiaolong from the Graveyard!" Yusei announced.

Flying onto the field was a small serpentine dragon with light-green scales and a mane of blue hair. Its snout slightly resembled that of Stardust Dragon's.

"I tune the level one Righty Driver into the level one Stardust Xiaolong for a level two Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

The screwdriver robot flashed orange and turned into a single ring of light and went around Stardust Xaiolong. The small dragon in turn became a single ball of light.

"Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

The lights flashed and became a robotic racecar colored white, yellow, green, and red. The cockpit of the car contained a small head with a blue racing helmet, and towards the end of the car were blue arms and legs.

"Since I summoned Formula Synchron, I draw one card from the deck!" Yusei announced. "That ends my turn!"

* * *

Aki and the others had been watching the whole duel from the roof of the Bird's Nest. And thanks to the monitor Bruno had set up, they had heard every word Yusei and Placido had said during the duel. Though they had failed to see the vision of the future that Placido had shown.

"What the heck is Yusei thinking summoning Stardust Dragon with that Synchro eater still on the field?" Sect wondered. "And why'd he summon that little Synchro monster?"

"I know what Yusei is going to attempt. But I'm not sure if he can do it right now." Bruno remarked. "The tactic requires him to have a Clear Mind, and I think he's been too shaken by Placido."

"Bruno has a point." Crow agreed. "From the start of this duel, Placido's been doing a good job of pressing Yusei's buttons. Of course I don't see what Yusei having a clear mind has to do with anything."

"Bruno, give me that microphone attached to the monitor." Aki requested. "I'm going to try something."

* * *

"I have no idea what kind of strategy you're trying to pull, but it's futile." Placido told Yusei as he drew a card. "You'll achieve nothing by continuing to rely on those wretched Synchro monsters. I've already shown you how they bring nothing but death and despair."

"No. Synchro Summoning is how I'm going to win this duel." Yusei told him.

"I guess I should've expected that response from you." Placido chuckled. "I imagine that you're just as foolish as your father, the late Dr. Fudo, the very man that invented the Momentum reactor and doomed the world. Look at all the destruction his creation has caused already. It's because of the Zero Reverse that Satellite is what it is today."

Yusei was struck hard by Placido's words. He knew since he was very young that his father was the creator of the Momentum reactor that first went critical and split the old Domino City. There were a few times when he thought about all the destruction the Zero Reverse had caused and of how his father was connected to it, and at those times he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

"Look at all the lives that were lost when Satellite was created, at how many orphans were created." Placido continued to rant. "Look at how the people of Satellite continue to suffer because of what happened. How they live in the rubble like stray dogs and slave away in plants recycling the scraps of the more privileged. They'd all be better off dead! And it was your father that was at the heart of it all!"

_"Yusei, can you hear me?"_ Aki's voice spoke into his ear from the microphone in his helmet. _"If you can, listen. Don't pay any attention to what that monster Placido says. He's only trying to rattle you."_

"Think of how miserable the lives of you and all your friends have been because of your father." Placido ranted on. "Your father is to blame for it all!"

_"You remember how you first told me that I wasn't responsible for what happened to my parents?"_ Aki continued. _"Well your dad isn't to blame for what happened to Satellite. It was all just a horrible accident. So don't listen to anything Placido is telling you. Just focus on what you need to do to win. I know you can do it."_

Yusei took a deep breath and began to tune out Placido's voice. The only thing he focused on at that moment was the feeling of the wind hitting his face. Yusei began to speed up as he continued to feel the wind. As he did, a brilliant white light appeared before his eyes and began to take the shape of a dragon.

"Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution!" Yusei began to chant as he continued to increase speed.

"I now activate the effect of Wisel MK-II and equip it with Stardust Dragon!" Placido announced.

"Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei continued as Wisel launched its energy cables. "Accel Synchro!"

In seconds, Yusei and his D-Wheel were enveloped in a pinkish red light as a black Synchro monster card suddenly appeared in his hand. As he continued to speed up, Formula Synchron became a pair of green rings and encircled Stardust dragon. Just before Wisel was about to ensnare the dragon, Yusei and his monster shot away like a shooting star and vanished. With its target gone, Wisel MK-II retracted its cables.

"Where did he…?" a stunned Placido began to ask.

Before Placido could finish his own question, Yusei shot up from behind him out of the same light he vanished in. Busting out of the light with him was an evolved form of Stardust Dragon that soared high into the air. The new dragon was slightly larger and more muscular than its original form. Its head had become much sleeker and its horns much shorter. The dragon's wings had become more like fins, and had gained a second pair that jutted upright out of its back.

"Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!" Yusei called out.

"What sort of abomination is this?" Placido demanded to know.

"It's the monster that's going to help me beat you." Yusei told him.

"I'll destroy it before you get the chance! I activate a Spell card, Apocalypse Blitz Strike!" Placido announced. "Since I have at least one Apocalypse Droid on the field, I can destroy your wretched dragon and inflict 200 points of damage for all the Machine-type monsters I have on the field!"

"I activate one of Shooting Star Dragon's effects!" Yusei announced. "Since you activate an effect that destroys a card, Shooting Star Dragon can negate it!"

Wisel fired more missiles from its shoulders while Apocalypse Droid-Retaliator fired its own missiles from its chest and its two laser cannons. At the same time, Apocalypse Droid-Scavenger and the two Apocalypse Tokens fired beams of red light up at Shooting Star Dragon. But before any of the attacks could it, they were stopped by an invisible barrier and vaporized.

"Fine! I attack Shooting Star Dragon with Wisel!" Placido announced. "Blade of Despair!"

"I activate another of Shooting Star Dragon's effects!" Yusei announced. "By removing Shooting Star Dragon from the field until the end of the turn, I negate Wisel's attack!"

Wisel charged on its four legs towards the cosmic dragon. But just as it was about to swing down its blade, Shooting Star Dragon vanished with a flash of green light.

"…I end my turn." Placido announced through gritted teeth.

With the turn over, Shooting Star Dragon reappeared in the air with another green flash. Just as Yusei was about to draw his next card, the dragon mark on his right arm began to glow with a crimson light, as did the top card of his deck. Yusei drew the card, and as soon as he did the light faded to reveal an unfamiliar monster. It was red and looked like a cross between a spaceship and a stealth jet, and had the head of a mechanical dragon.

"From my hand, I equip Shooting Star Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapon-Warp Star Wing!" Yusei announced.

The dragon starship appeared in the sky and flew towards Shooting Star Dragon. As it approached, its wings opened up and its head retracted. The ship maneuvered onto Shooting Star Dragon's back to fit onto its wings.

"Since it's equipped with Warp Star Wing, Shooting Star Dragon gains 1700 ATK. Which means its ATK becomes 5000!" Yusei announced. "I now activate another one of Shooting Star Dragon's effects and reveal the top five cards of my deck. And for each Tuner monster I reveal, Shooting Star Dragon gains an attack!"

Yusei revealed his first card. The card was a familiar robot with a wrench-like head. "First card, Quick-Span Knight!"

He revealed the second card from his deck. It was another monster card. This monster was in the form of a young man with long green hair tied in a ponytail and white angelic wings. "Second card, Effect Veiler!"

Yusei picked up another card and got a third monster. It was a small dull-grey version of Stardust Dragon with stubby arms and legs. "Third card, Debris Dragon!"

With that, Yusei revealed another card. The fourth was a small blue robot with a yellow chest and grey exhaust pipes coming out its back. "Fourth card, Hyper Synchron!"

Yusei revealed the final card from his deck and got a small robot with a familiar screw-shaped head. "And the fifth card is Screwturn, the Apprentice Warrior! So because I revealed five Tuner monsters, Shooting Star Dragon can attack five times!"

"A shame you'll only be able to use three." Placido told him. "Wisel and my two Apocalypse Tokens are open to attack. But both Retaliator and Scavenger can't be selected as attack targets while I control another machine."

"Then I guess I should mention that since it's equipped with Warp Star Wing, Shooting Star Dragon can't destroy any monsters in battle!" Yusei revealed. "But any monster it attacks loses 1000 ATK points!"

"What?" a shocked and enraged Placido exclaimed.

"Shooting Star Dragon, attack Wisel MK-II!" Yusei commanded. "Shooting Star Blitz!"

Shooting Star Dragon split into five multicolored copies of itself. All five flew top speed at Wisel, but only three of them hit the robot before it exploded into a mass of flames. With each hit, Placido's life points fell to 3100, then 2000, then finally zero. All five dragons continued on and struck Placido at full speed. Placido cried out before the impact of the dragons caused his upper half to separate from his D-Wheel body. He bounced a few times before landing several feet away from his lower half, which exploded in a blast of flames.

With the duel over, the remaining monsters on the field vanished and the city of junk transformed back into the wasteland that was originally there. Yusei pulled up near the fallen Placido and saw bits of sparking wire and metal sticking out from where his lower half was severed.

"What the hell are you?" Yusei wondered.

"Far superior to you. That's for sure." Lucciano's voice replied.

Yusei turned to see Lucciano and Jose standing nearby. "Who are you two?"

"We are the remaining two members of what you know as the Infinity Triad." Jose answered. "I am Jose, and my young friend here is Lucciano."

"So are you from this same future Placido claims to be from?" Yusei asked.

"The same ruined future, but different points in it." Jose confirmed. "We have come for two reasons, Yusei Fudo. The first is to retrieve our fallen comrade. The second is to warn you to stay out of our affairs."

"But you're going to try and destroy Neo Domino and Satellite, right?" Yusei pointed out.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Jose coldly retorted. "Surly you can see that sacrificing the lives of a single city is a small price to pay for saving the entire human race."

"Even if I did fully believe that you're from this ruined future, nothing is worth that cost!" Yusei told them. "And if you're going to try and destroy this city, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop you!"

"I guess this is war then." Lucciano shrugged. "If you're going to make trouble for us, we have no choice but to kill you."

With that, Lucciano outstretched his arm and telekinetically drew Placido's sword from the wreckage of his D-Wheel body. The child-like triad member then slashed the air with the sword and opened a portal of blue light.

"We will meet again, Yusei Fudo." Jose told him as Lucciano lifted Placido's upper half with his mind.

Jose and Lucciano stepped through the portal, taking the fallen Placido with them. Once all three were through, the portal closed up behind them.

* * *

Aki waited on the couch of her and Yusei's apartment at the Bird's Nest for Yusei to return. She didn't wait for long though. Only after waiting for about four minutes, the door opened and Yusei walked in. Aki quickly got off the couch and went up to him, planting a kiss on his lips.

"Are you okay?" Aki asked.

"I'm fine." Yusei assured her. "Placido didn't hit me that badly in the duel."

"You had me a bit worried there a few times." Aki told him as they headed back over to the couch.

"I probably wouldn't have gotten through it, if you hadn't talked to me during Placido's last turn." Yusei pointed out. "Thanks for that."

"No problem." Aki replied. "I guess now that monster's paid for everything he's done."

"He was left in pretty bad shape. That much I can tell you." Yusei assured her.

"Yusei… I think maybe it's time that I told you… what happened to me while you were down at the bottom of the Pit." Aki spoke after a moment. "And about my nightmares."

"Are you sure?" Yusei asked. "You don't have to if you're not ready."

"No. I think I'm ready now." Aki assured him. "Now that Placido's been taken out, I think I can finally tell you."

* * *

The tallest building in all of Satellite was the tower known as the Infinity Spire. The tower's height is so great that it could be seen from Neo Domino. It was from this structure that the Infinity Triad ruled over Satellite like gods. Within the top of the tower was a triangular room with blue metal walls that had glowing circuit paths running along them. In each corner of the room was a golden throne. Lucciano and Jose sat on two of the thrones, while the third throne, Placido's, was left vacant. The two of them looked into a holographic ball that showed an image of the Bird's Nest.

"It will be some time before Placido is repaired." Jose remarked. "Until then, we will have to handle things on our own."

"It's Placido's fault for being so rash." Lucciano complained. "Not only is he in the shop, now we have to clean up his mess."

"Indeed. Provoking Yusei Fudo might just turn out to have been a mistake." Jose agreed. "The power he displayed while dueling Placido is a little troubling. And he's made it clear that he intends to try and stop us. There is no choice. Both he and his companions must be dealt with."

"Why don't you leave that to me?" Lucciano suggested. "I could send my two little friends after them."

"You mean those twins?" Jose inquired. "They have proven to be quite formidable. They've even defeated criminals from the very bottom of the Pit. But are you sure it's a good idea to use those two?"

"Why train assassins if you're not going to use them?" Lucciano pointed out. "And this is the perfect job for them."

"Very well." Jose finally agreed. "But those twins are your responsibility. You had better keep a tight leash on them."

"Relax, those two are putty in my hands." Lucciano assured him. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

**Author's Note:** One of the cards Placido discarded for Apocalypse Bombing, Apocalypse Droid-Mine Sweeper, was originally going to have a slightly bigger role. It had the effect of destroying an opponent's set Spell/Trap card by sacrificing itself, and inflict a little burn damage in the process. I was going to have Placido use it to get rid of Yusei's Scrapiron Scarecrow. But after rewriting Wisel MK-II's effect to try and simplify the duel, there wasn't any point in even using Mine Sweeper. So it ended up only being mentioned by name.

Another hard thing about writing this duel was figuring out how Yusei was going to summon Shooting Star Dragon. I tried using Shooting Star Dragon a few times in this one deck I built, and it was extremely difficult to summon. And with Yusei using up so many cards from his hand over the course of his duel, it seemed that the only way he could pull it off was to recycle a lot of the cards from his Graveyard. So in the end, I came up with Junk City for the single purpose of bringing out Shooting Star Dragon. I also remembered how Placido screwed up Yusei's first attempt to Accel Synchro Summon in the anime. So here, I thought it'd be a nice touch if Aki helped Yusei pull summoning Shooting Star Dragon off with her support.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	16. The Dark Twins

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 15: The Dark Twins

It had been a peaceful five weeks at the Bird's Nest since Yusei's duel with Placido. Jose and Lucciano had not made a move since that day. And though Yusei, Aki, and everyone else at the Nest were expecting them to strike at any time, they did not let the threat worry them. While they weren't about to drop their guard, no one in the Blackbird Gang was about to let the threat of attack keep them from living their lives. It had been business as usual.

Things had been quite peaceful for Aki as well. The nightmares she had been suffering for had lessened since she finally opened up to Yusei about what Placido had done to her. It was a slow process, but she had begun to move past the incident. Aki was also getting better and better with controlling her powers thanks to Raven's help. Her life was finally going well again. Yet since Yusei and Placido's duel, there was something that had been nagging at Aki. She couldn't stop thinking about how Yusei had summoned Shooting Star Dragon back in that duel. Everyone on the roof of the Nest saw Yusei zoom away in a streak of light when he summoned the dragon, even without the binoculars. Aki couldn't help but wonder about what Yusei experienced in that light. Whatever it was, she wanted to experience it with her own eyes.

That morning, Aki went down to the underground garage of the Bird's Nest and went to the workshop Yusei and Bruno were often found in. No matter how many times Aki entered their workshop, it never ceased to amaze her how messy it always was. Every table in the room that didn't have a computer on it had piles of different machine components and bits of wire. If there were any chairs in the room, they were all buried under a mass of still usable junk and spare parts. Aki didn't see any sign of either Yusei or Bruno in the large yet cluttered workshop.

What she noticed right away though was the sleek red D-Wheel in the center of the room. It was her D-Wheel. Yusei had started building it for her with Bruno's help not long after they first arrived at the Bird's Nest. She was surprised they even had enough parts to build a new D-Wheel from scratch. Though Yusei admitted that they had used an old and mostly complete wreck they found. All it needed was some new parts and a little customization. Yusei had unveiled the vehicle to Aki the night before as a surprise.

"You can go ahead and take it out for a test drive." Bruno spoke from behind, startling Aki and causing her to turn.

"Oh, hi Bruno." Aki greeted with a relieved smile. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Bruno replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "If you're looking for Yusei, he's out on another parts run."

"Well actually, I came here to see you." Aki revealed. "I wanted to ask you to teach me how to Accel Synchro Summon, like Yusei did when he dueled Placido."

Bruno's eyes went wide with surprise. "Where did this come from all of a sudden?"

"I want to know what Yusei experienced when he summoned Shooting Star Dragon." Aki explained. "And if I learn how to Accel Synchro Summon, I'll be able to help Yusei fight what's left of the triad."

Bruno looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "If you had come to me with this request when you first came here to the Nest, I probably would've said no. But since your mental training with Raven, I think you might be able to do it."

"Really?" Aki asked a little excitedly. "Okay, what do I have to do?"

"The first part of the equation for Accel Synchro is speed." Bruno explained. "Fortunately, Yusei and I already gave your D-Wheel the same upgrade we gave his before he dueled Placido. We've actually been giving the same upgrade to all the D-Wheels in the gang. It's proving to be a lot of work."

"Okay, what else is there?" Aki asked.

"Well, you'll need this." Bruno replied as he handed her a card from his pocket.

Aki took the card from him and gave it a good look. The card was a Synchro monster. Depicted in the illustration was a young woman with burgundy-red hair that went just past her shoulders. She was wearing a black skin-tight bodysuit with a wide red stripe running down the front of the torso. A wide silver band ran around her face like a belt, and on her right hand was a large metal gauntlet with claws. She had a green visor on over her eyes, and on her back were two pairs of wings with red rose petals for feathers.

"Cyber Rose Angel?" Aki read as she looked at the card's name.

"It's a Tuner Synchro monster, like Yusei's Formula Synchron." Bruno explained. "Now, Accel Synhcro works by controlling the Momentum energy produced by the D-Wheel. And the key to that is to have a Clear Mind."

"So how do I do that?" Aki inquired.

"Just focus and feel the wind." Bruno answered. "The rest will come."

"Okay then. I'll get started right now!" Aki decided.

* * *

Yusei headed back to the Bird's Nest on his D-Wheel with a small bag of junk slung on his back. His search for new parts had gone well, though not as well as he would've liked. It seemed that he and Bruno would need to have Saiga get them some of the harder to find components they might need. As Yusei neared the tower he saw Aki riding across the wasteland at full speed. He changed course to meet up with her.

Aki stopped near a large dead tree, prompting Yusei to park a couple feet away. As Aki removed her black helmet, Yusei couldn't help but noticed the very form-fitting red and black riding suit she was wearing. He also noticed the slightly frustrated expression on her face.

"Hey." Yusei greeted as he walked up, getting her attention.

"Oh, hi." Aki greeted back.

"That's, uh, that's a nice outfit you've got on." Yusei complimented with a slight blush.

"Thanks." Aki replied as her own face turned a bit red. "Connie gave it to men before I went out. Seems she started working on it when you and Bruno started working on my D-Wheel."

"How's it running?" he asked.

"Pretty good. You did a great job." Aki praised.

"You sure? It seemed like something was bugging you when you pulled up." Yusei recalled.

"Oh, well… I've been trying to figure out how to Accel Synchro Summon." Aki explained. "So far it's not going well."

"Why are you trying to learn that?" Yusei inquired.

"Because I want to be able to help you more if the rest of the triad attacks." Aki explained. "And… I'm hoping it'll help me understand you better. I want to know what you saw in that light."

"I see…" Yusei replied. "Well, your problem could be that you're trying to force it. I mean I've only done it once, but it seems like you just have to let it happen."

Before Aki could reply, Kiryu rode up on his D-Wheel and parked near them. The two of them could see the frantic expression on his face as he ran up to them.

"You guys better get back to the Nest, quick!" Kiryu told them. "Something's happened."

"What is it?" Yusei asked.

"It's Chase, one of Crow's scouts. He's been hurt." Kiryu explained. "It looks like the triad might have something to do with it."

Yusei and Aki quickly got back onto the D-Wheels and followed Kiryu back to the Bird's Nest. After parking in the garage, the three of them made their way to the makeshift infirmary that was set up on the ground floor of the building. When they got there, Chase Lawrence, a Blackbird Gang scout who was a young man with long green hair that covered his right eye, was sitting on a medical table with his shirt off as Raven bandaged his shoulder. Crow, Sect, Bandit, and Max, were also in the room.

"Well, that should do it." Raven declared as she finished up. "We should probably get Dr. Schmitt down here to make sure, but it doesn't look that serious."

"Looks like you were lucky Chase." Bandit remarked.

"What the heck happened?" Aki asked.

"Max and I were out on patrol and we saw Chase face down on the dirt near his D-Wheel." Bandit explained. "Which, by the way, is a total wreck. Bruno's trying to fix it right now."

"It was these kids." Chase spoke with a shudder. "A pair of twins, a boy and a girl. They were riding this yellow three-wheeler. The boy was the one driving. He asked me if I knew anything about Yusei and Aki. Of course I told him I knew nothing. Then he challenged me to a duel… and he just wiped the floor with me."

"I still find it hard to believe that a couple of kids did this." Raven remarked.

"So do I. But then Yusei did say that a kid was a member of the triad." Crow pointed out.

"Yeah, but the other's an old man. Plus I'm not sure if Lucciano is as young as he looks." Yusei admitted.

"Still, these two kids could be connected to the triad somehow." Crow noted. "We better track them down before they cause more trouble."

"Aki and I can help with that." Yusei offered. "Besides, if they really are connected to the triad, they're probably looking for me."

It wasn't long before almost the entire Blackbird Gang was out on the search for the mysterious twins that had attacked one of their own. They had split into teams of two to conduct the search. Yusei and Aki were on their own as they searched near a small cluster of abandoned buildings. Just as they were about to wrap up their search of the area and look elsewhere, a thick cold fog rolled in around them. The fog cleared just enough to reveal that the Skeleton Knight was before them, sitting atop his undead steed.

"It's been awhile." The Skeleton Knight greeted. "I hope you're doing well."

"Yusei, do you know this… thing?" Aki asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Yeah. I don't know who or what he is, but he's the one who gave me Stardust Dragon." Yusei revealed.

"Which you've been using quite well." The Skeleton Knight remarked. "I must say I'm quite pleased."

"You're also the one who gave Kiryu a card that drove him insane!" Yusei pointed out.

"This is the Skeleton Knight you told me about once?" Aki realized.

"What is it you want?" Yusei asked of the knight.

"You're looking for a pair of twins, right?" the Skeleton Knight replied. "I can tell you that they're nearby."

"Why should we trust you?" Aki asked suspiciously.

"Because those twins are working for the Infinity Triad." The Skeleton Knight answered. "And when it comes to matters concerning the triad, we're on the same side."

"Okay, so what can you tell us about them?" Yusei asked.

"I can say that you shouldn't underestimate them for a moment." The undead horseman answered. "Though of the two, the girl is probably the strongest. They proved themselves in the shady underworld duel rings of Neo Domino. When a member of the triad learned of their skill, they were brought here to Satellite and honed their skills against the most hardened criminals from the very bottom of the Pit, all for the purpose of training them to become assassins."

"They're using a pair of children as assassins?" a surprised Aki asked.

"I don't think I need to remind you of how everyone once thought a little girl murdered her parents." The Skeleton Knight pointed out. "I'll take my leave now." He began to ride of but stopped. "By the way, have either of you ever heard of a duelist named Ryo Bakura?"

"No. Why?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, just curious." The Skeleton Knight innocently replied. "Good luck to you both. You'll need it."

The knight continued to ride off, and soon the cold fog around them became thick again and rolled away. Yusei and Aki were once again alone. Or so they thought.

"Well, well. Looks like we finally found our targets." A young voice spoke. "And both in the same place, too."

Yusei and Aki looked to see a pair of twin children on the back of a small yellow three-wheeled D-Wheel with small red lights on the front. The driver was a boy with green hair styled in a ponytail, wearing a blue riding helmet with a short-sleeved bluish-white jacket with a short-sleeved blue shirt with gold bands and a pair of shorts. The other rider wore a very similar outfit. Only her jacket was pinkish-white with a long-sleeved red shirt. She had a hood on over her riding helmet, and on her left arm was a yellow duel disk. Yusei noticed something unsettling about the girl's eyes. The boy's eyes on the other hand seemed filled with rage, yet there was a smile on his face.

"What's up? I'm Leo." The boy greeted. "The girl riding behind me is my sister, Luna."

"You were sent to challenge us?" Yusei deduced.

"Yep. Now which one of you wants to take me on first?" Leo asked. "Or if you like, you can both take me on at once."

"Then we'd get to see you screw up twice as badly." Luna coldly remarked.

"Hey! That's cold Luna." Leo told her. "I did wipe out that one guy earlier today, ya know."

"A monkey could've beaten that guy." Luna replied. "You better let me handle this. After all, dear Lucciano did make eliminating these two our top priority."

"I honestly don't know what makes him so great." Leo huffed.

"Hold on! No one's dueling anybody." Yusei told them.

_"Oh, you'd better duel them Fudo."_ A familiar voice interrupted. Yusei looked at the consol of his D-Wheel to see Lucciano on the monitor. _"Otherwise your friends are going to pay dearly."_

"So these two really are working for you?" Yusei realized.

_"That's right."_ Lucciano snickered. _"And if you and Ms. Izayoi don't duel my little assassins, I'll simply send the Diablo to obliterate your little gang and lay waste to all of Satellite. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen."_

"Hey Lucciano, Luna and I can't decide which of us should duel these guys." Leo informed him.

_"Hmm… well the two of you do work best as a team, and you do have two targets. Why not just make the whole thing a tag duel?"_ Lucciano suggested.

"If you think that's best, darling." Luna agreed.

"Whatever." Leo replied indifferently.

_"That settles it, then."_ Lucciano decided. _"You and your girlfriend better put on a good show, Fudo. I'll be watching."_

With that, Lucciano's face vanished from Yusei's monitor.

"Well, while I can't stand Lucciano, I've got no choice to do what he says." Leo admitted. "So I guess the four of us are having a tag duel. The two of you against me and my sister."

"Hold on. I've never been in a tag duel before." Aki revealed.

"What kind of loser are you?" Leo snickered. "I guess I better explain it how it works before we get started."

"You better let me do that, Leo." Luna interrupted. "You'd just screw it up."

"Ouch, Luna." Leo sarcastically replied.

"A tag duel works like this." Luna began. "Each team of two starts out with 8000 life points instead of 4000. A player can't be attacked directly while their teammate has a monster on the field. Also, each player can attack using their teammate's monsters, or use one of their monsters for a Tribute, Fusion, or Synchro Summon. Players can also use any Spell and Trap cards their teammate has on the field."

"Now that the rules are out of the way, let's do this!" Leo told them. "First team to the other end of this road goes first."

"Fine." Yusei agreed.

The three of them all revved their D-Wheels before taking off down the old street. Yusei pulled ahead of the twins, but at the last second their unique D-Wheel took off with surprising speed.

"Eat our dust, losers!" Leo laughed as they zoomed past. In seconds, the twins had reached the other end of the road.

"That's the same thing that happened when Placido forced me to duel you." Aki darkly recalled as she pulled alongside Yusei.

"Yeah. The triad probably gave their D-Wheel a one-shot booster like in the one they had you using." Yusei deduced.

"But aren't those illegal?" Aki pointed out.

"Like the triad cares." Yusei replied. "Let's just catch up to them."

In only a few moments, Yusei and Aki caught up to the twins. Leo looked back and snickered. "Glad you slowpokes could join us."

"I'll go first." Luna decided. "And since I'm going first, I'll decide the order of the duel. It'll be me, than Ms. Izayoi, than my brother, than Mr. Fudo. With that, I now activate the Track Field, Forest of Lost Souls!"

The entire area transformed from a wasteland into a deep forest filled with dead leafless trees. The sky above was thick with dark-grey clouds and a misty fog hung over the track.

Luna drew her first card. "I'll start things by setting a monster on the field. Then I'll play the Spell card, Monkey's Paw."

Materializing by Leo and Luna on the track was a large severed left hand from a monkey. Its fingers were all outstretched and the hand itself had been desiccated by age and mummification.

"When Monkey's Paw is played, it gets five Wish Counters put on it." Luna explained. "When it runs out of Wish Counters, its destroyed. Also, by removing a Wish Counter from Monkey's Paw, I can Special Summon a monster from my deck or any player's Graveyard. So I now remove one counter and summon Berry, the Forest Swordsman from my deck."

The thumb of the mummified paw retracted so that the remaining fingers made the universal hand signal for four. An eerie ball of green light appeared on the field and took the form of a porcupine-like creature that carried a small sword in both of its front paws.

"Since Berry was Special Summoned, my opponent takes 300 points of damage." Luna revealed.

The animal swordsman dashed at Yusei and Aki and slashed them both with his two swords. The resulting strike dropped their life points to 7700.

"I'll end my turn there." Luna announced. "And unfortunately for Berry, he has to suffer the catch of the Monkey's Paw. Any monster summoned by the effect of Monkey's Paw is destroyed at the end of the turn."

Berry shattered into bits of green light and vanished. A moment later, a sort of white spectral entity began flying about amongst the trees of the forest. Neither Yusei nor Aki were able to get a very good look at what it was, but could tell that it had a skeletal face.

"What is that thing?" Aki wondered.

"It's a Lost Soul Counter." Luna answered with a very unsettling smile. "One gets placed on Forest of Lost Souls each time one of us has to send a monster to the Graveyard because of a card effect."

Aki drew her first card of the duel. "I summon Dark Verger in Defense Mode and end my turn!"

Aki's small plant monster sprouted up by her D-Wheel.

"That little thing is the best you could do?" Leo taunted as he drew his card. "Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter since you couldn't attack. Anyway, since I'm starting my turn, the effect of Forest of Lost Souls kicks in and gives me and Luna 200 life points for every monster in our Graveyard."

The dead trees of the forest suddenly began to glow with an eerie yellow light. Small yellow specks of light wafted from the trees and bombarded the twins, raising their life points to 8200.

"I'll start things off by summoning Morphtronic Staplen in Defense Mode!" Leo announced. A large red and grey stapler appeared by the twins' D-Wheel. "Next I remove another Wish Counter from Luna's Monkey's Paw to summon Berry, the Forest Swordsman back from the Graveyard!"

The severed paw withdrew its pinky finger to make the hand signal for three. A moment later Berry reappeared on the field in a ball of green light.

"You losers know what happens next. Berry hits you with another 300 points of damage." Leo announced.

The porcupine swordsman charged forward and once again slashed both Aki and Yusei with his twin swords. Their life points dropped down to 7400.

"That ends my turn." Leo announced. "Which means Berry gets destroyed by the downside of Monkey's Paw."

Berry shattered apart into bits of green light and vanished. A moment later, there was another spectral entity flying about the dead forest. Yusei drew his next card as he pondered the moves of the twins. Berry's effect didn't cause enough damage to make it worth summoning to the field over and over again. At least not in a duel where both sides were playing with 8000 life points each. Yet Yusei knew there had to be a good reason for repeatedly summoning Berry, and whatever it was probably had to do with the Lost Soul Counters of Luna's Track Field.

But just what the purpose of the counters was, Yusei couldn't figure it out. He decided he'd worry about it later and focused on what to do next. He knew Leo's monster wasn't worth attacking because it wouldn't be destroyed in battle. Which meant the only option was to attack Luna's monster. It was a risk, but there was simply no other option.

"First I summon Shield Wing in Defense Mode!" Yusei announced.

Appearing alongside Yusei's D-Wheel was a creature that looked to be a combination of a bird and a dragon. It was green in color and had a feathered pair of wings.

"Next I discard Quillbolt Hedgehog to Special Summon the Tuner, Jackie Jumper!" Yusei announced. The robotic skier jumped onto the field. "I now tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level two Shield Wing and Aki's level two Dark Verger for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Jackie Jumper flashed orange and changed into three rings of green light. The rings encircled Yusei and Aki's remaining monsters and converted them into four balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the advent of a divine force! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Descend to earth now, Lightning Warrior!"

The lights flashed and a massive bolt of blue lighting struck the ground. The light cleared to reveal Yusei's blonde armored warrior.

"Lighting Warrior, attack Luna's face down monster!" Yusei commanded. "Lightning Punisher!"

Lightning Warrior brought his right hand forward and fired a bolt of lightning down at the large set card that represented Luna's monster. The monster revealed itself as a crow with blood-red eyes and a necklace with a skull on it hanging around its neck before being vaporized.

"The monster you destroyed was Nightshade, the Forest Scavenger." Luna revealed. "When Nightshade's destroyed, it causes me to send two monsters from my deck to the Graveyard. So I now place Bat, the Forest Ninja, and Pon, the Forest Merchant, into the grave. And because those two were sent there by a card effect, two more Lost Soul Counters appear."

"Fine, but Lightning Warrior's effect kicks in too." Yusei revealed, ignoring the appearance of the two new specters. "When he destroys a monster, Lightning Warrior inflicts 300 points of damage for each card in my opponent's hand! And since both your hands add up to nine cards, you take 2700 points of damage!"

"Nice try, loser! But by removing two Lost Soul Counters, Luna and I negate any effect damage we might take and gain the same amount in life points!" Leo revealed.

Just as Lightning Warrior shot another bolt of lightning at the twins, two of the lost spirits came together and formed a large skeletal head. The spectral head opened its mouth and consumed the lightning bolt. After that, it went inside both twins and raised their life points up to 10900.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

"Since I'm staring my turn, Forest of Lost Souls Gives Leo and I 200 more life points for all the monsters in our Graveyard." Luna announced as she drew her card.

The trees of the forest glowed once more with an ominous yellow light and bombarded the twins with yellow specks. Their life points rose up to 11900.

"I tribute Leo's Morphtronic Staplen to summon Quill, the Forest Sage in Defense Mode." Luna announced.

The giant stapler shattered into bits of light. In its place appeared a large black horned owl with blood-red eyes. The bird wore a red hood with a gold medallion with a red gemstone in the center.

"Because I Tribute Summoned Quill, I get to add a Spell or Trap card to my hand." Luna announced as she took another card from her deck. "Now I'll set the card I just got on the field and end my turn."

Aki drew her next card. "I summon Rose Paladin in Attack Mode!"

Aki's female warrior appeared on the field in a burst of pink rose petals.

"Rose Paladin, attack Quill!" Aki commanded. "Rose Driver!"

Rose Paladin charged forward and pierced the owl's chest with her lance. Quill screeched before shattering into a mass of black feathers. Suddenly, two ghostly white entities flew out from the mass of feathers and began to fly around through the trees.

"Since you destroyed Quill while Forest of Lost Souls was on the field, I can add two more Lost Soul Counters." Luna revealed.

"Fine. But since Rose Paladin destroyed a monster in battle, I can Special Summon a Rose monster from my hand!" Aki announced. "Appear now, Fallen Angel of Roses!"

Rose Paladin exploded with a burst of pink rose petals before vanishing from the battlefield. Then flying down from the sky on her black rose petal wings was Aki's fallen angel.

"The two of you don't have any monsters left." Aki pointed out. "Which means Fallen Angel can attack you both directly."

"And don't forget, Aki can attack using my Lightning Warrior too." Yusei added.

"Fallen Angel, attack Leo and Luna!" Aki commanded. "Rose Whip!"

"Sorry, but I activate my Trap card, Negate Attack." Luna announced. "This not only stops your monster's attack, but ends your Battle Phase. Too bad."

The Fallen Angel lashed her whip down at the twins. But before it could strike, a vortex appeared in front of Leo and Luna and repelled the whip back with a gust of wind.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Aki announced.

"Now that it's my turn, I can finally cut loose." Leo grinned as he drew his card. "But first, Forest of Lost Souls give me and Luna another life point boost."

The trees of the forest gave off their unearthly glow and bombarded the twins with their specks of yellow light. Their life points rose from 11900 to 13100.

"I'll start by summoning Morphtronic Boomboxen in Attack Mode!" Leo announced.

A large red boombox materialized onto the battlefield. In moments, parts of the box unfolded and rearranged to become a sort of robot.

"Next I'll remove another Wish Counter from Luna's Monkey's Paw to summon our old friend Berry back from the dead." Leo announced.

The severed paw withdrew another finger to make the hand signal for two. After that, the porcupine warrior reappeared with a burst of green light.

"Because Berry was summoned again, you losers take another 300 points of damage." Leo announced.

Berry charged forward and slashed Aki and Yusei once more with his swords. The strike decreased their life points to 7100.

"Berry just happens to be a Tuner monster." Leo revealed. "So now I tune the level three Berry into my level four Boomboxen for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Berry flashed green before turning into three rings of purple light. The rings encircled Boomboxen and caused the robot to change into four spheres of crackling black energy.

"Docking power with ruthlessness to bring world war!" Leo chanted. "Synchro Summon! Envoy of hate and chaos, Power Tool Mecha Dragon!"

The lights exploded into a massive pillar of black energy. The energy soon faded to reveal a yellow and grey mechanical dragon with glowing red eyes. It had four wings like a jet on the back of its yellow torso, and the end of its grey tail ended in the spade of a shovel. The robotic dragon's right arm ended in a large blue backhoe scoop, and mounted on its left forearm was a primarily green jackhammer-like device. Adorning the dragon's chest, shoulders, and wings were a sort of strange glowing red tribal markings.

"You losers are in real trouble, now that my ultimate monster's out." Leo declared. "Prepare to be demolished!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone asks, the reason I'm using the dub names of the twins because I keep getting their original names mixed up. Anyway, one of the few parts of the 5D's manga that I liked was that the twins were portrayed as evil when they first showed up. Of course for this story I ramped their evil up a notch. Well, Luna's evil, at least. I ended up giving her a few occult themed cards. I'm sure some of you reading have at least heard of the Monkey's Paw from the 1902 short story by William Wymark Jacobs. That little cursed relic has been used many times in movies and T.V. It was even used in a _Simpsons Halloween Special_ once.

Once I wrote a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX/Strawberry Panic crossover called _GX: Dark Queen of Miator_. After I wrote the first chapter of that story, I swore to myself that I'd never do another tag duel. The reason being that they take so long to write. But I broke that vow for this story because I thought it'd be nice to have at least one instance where Yusei and Aki dueled side by side. Plus this duel is being split into multiple chapters, so that makes things a little easier. Of course the duel itself took almost forever to outline. Things were complicated a bit more by the fact I had to keep track of how many life points the twins gained each turn, and that I ended up creating new cards for Luna on the fly.

Back when this story was in the embryonic stages, I toyed with the idea of using the Duel Dragons from the manga instead of the regular Signer Dragons. That idea was scrapped because the Duel Dragon versions of Stardust and Black Rose were kind of lame. But I really liked that Ancient Fairy and Power Tool's counterparts were pretty much evil counterparts. So instead, I decided to make those two Duel Dragons the corrupted forms of Ancient Fairy and Power Tool. As for just what corrupted them, that'll be revealed next chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	17. The Hands of Lucciano

**Author's Note:** There's going to be a sort of guest star appearing at the end of this chapter. I wasn't planing on having this character show up, it just sort of happened.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or anything from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Also, the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Hands of Lucciano

"Now that I have Power Tool Mecha Dragon on the field, I equip it with the Spell card, Pile Arm!" Leo announced.

Another arm appeared on the mechanical dragon's left side, connecting to the shoulder. The forearm of the new limb was a large grey nail gun-like device armed with a large steel spike.

"Pile Arm boosts my dragon's ATK by 500, giving it a sweet total of 2800!" Leo revealed. "But that's not all. When Pile Arm is activated, I can destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card. So I choose to get rid of Yusei's face down card!"

Power Tool Mecha Dragon aimed its weapon down at the large set card near Yusei's D-Wheel and fired the large spike. Yusei's Trap card was impaled through the center and shattered into bits of light.

"Also, because I equipped my Dragon with an Equip Spell, I can draw a new card." Leo announced. "Next I remove all four Lost Soul Counters from Forest of Lost Souls to cut Lightning Warrior's ATK in half until the end of the turn!"

The four wandering spirits of the forest swarmed around Yusei's Lightning Warrior and enveloped him. The armored warrior seemed to age fifty years in a matter of seconds. His blonde hair became stark white and his face became withered and covered in wrinkles.

"Leo…" Luna attempted to interrupt.

"Not now Luna. I'm on a roll." Leo told her. "Power Tool Mecha Dragon, attack Lightning Warrior! Full Metal Demolition!"

"I activate my Trap, Rose Blizzard!" Aki announced. "Since Yusei's monster is being attacked, I can switch the attacking monster to Defense Mode!"

The mechanical dragon fired off several large screwdriver-like projectiles at Lightning Warrior. But at the last second, the missiles were blown back by a gust of rose petal-filled wind. The force of the gust knocked Power Tool Mecha Dragon to the ground.

"Uh, what just happened?" a stunned Leo wondered.

"You idiot! You were so busy showing off that you forgot about the other face down card they had out." Luna told him. "Now you've wasted all of our Lost Soul Counters."

"Well excuse me for trying to win!" Leo argued.

"Will you just end your turn already? Watching you duel gives me a headache." Luna complained.

"Fine! I end my turn!" Leo angrily announced.

Yusei drew his next card. As soon as he did, Lightning Warrior returned to normal.

"I equip Lightning Warrior with the Spell card, Fighting Spirit! This increases his ATK by 300 points for each monster you have on the field!" Yusei announced.

"I don't think so, loser!" Leo interrupted. "I activate Power Tool Mecha Dragon's effect, letting it steal your Equip Spell for itself!"

Just as Lightning Warrior began to glow with a yellow aura, Power Tool Mecha Dragon shot him with two red electrical beams from the sides of its head. The beams pulled out the large representation of Yusei's Spell card, transforming it into yellow energy and sucking it in. The mechanical dragon then began to glow with its own yellow aura.

"Sweet! Now Power Tool Mecha Dragon has 3400 ATK!" Leo observed. "Now what're you gonna try, loser?"

"I end my turn." Yusei reluctantly announced.

"Which means it's now my turn." Luna announced as she drew her card. "And because it is, my brother and I gain more life points thanks to Forest of Lost Souls."

The dead trees bombarded the twins with the specks of light from their unearthly yellow aura. As a result, their life points climbed to 14700.

"I start by summoning the tuner, Cursed Cymbal Monkey." Luna announced.

Materializing on the field was a small toy monkey with black fur. It had large round red eyes and wore a red vest and a fez with a white skull on the front. In its front paws it carried a pair of cymbals.

"Since I just summoned a Dark Tuner monster, I Special Summon Lost Teddy from my hand." Luna announced.

Appearing on the track next to Luna's toy monkey was a large teddy bear. Its fur was matted and grey, and stuffing protruded from the seams at its arms and legs. Its right eye was missing, in its place only an X made of black thread. Its left eye, on the other hand, glowed with a sinister red light.

"Next I activate the effect of Lost Teddy and raise its level by the same number as Cursed Cymbal Monkey's level." Luna announced. "Now, I tune the level three Cursed Cymbal Monkey into the level four Lost Teddy for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

The toy monkey clapped its cymbals together and changed into three rings of green light. The rings encircled Lost Teddy and changed the bear into four balls of crackling black energy.

"The wicked shadows of the underworld! Gather now and bring forth the dark king!" Luna chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Zeman the Ape King!"

The lights flashed and became a massive pillar of black energy. The energy faded to reveal an ape-like creature with reddish-brown fur. On its head it had a ring-like crown, and it was dressed in robes of green. Appearing on the breast of its robes was a small version of Cursed Cymbal Monkey.

"Uh, Luna? That tuner you used to summon Zeman could cause some problems for my dragon. You think you could do something about that?" Leo requested.

"Oh fine, you big baby." Luna sighed as she rolled her eyes. "We'll probably need that dragon of yours later, anyway. I equip Power Tool Mecha Dragon with the Spell card, Ring of Zorc."

Materializing on a brown leather string around the mechanical dragon's neck was a gold pendant shaped like a triangle framed by a ring. A strange eye was carved into the center of the triangle, and hanging from the lower half of the ring were five pointed ornaments.

_"H-Haa ha ha ha!"_ came a sinister distance laugh from the forest.

"Yusei, did you hear that?" Aki asked.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "Don't ask me how I know, but there's something wrong with that Equip Spell Luna just played."

"It's not just that ring. It's their monsters." Aki added. "It's even this whole Track Field. There's something evil about them."

"I know. This whole duel is just strange." Yusei agreed. "And there's something strange about Leo and Luna too. They don't seem like they were brainwashed like you were. It's almost like they're possessed by something."

"If you two are done talking, I set one card on the field and end my turn." Luna announced after clearing her throat.

Aki drew her next card. Almost as soon as she did, the small toy monkey on Zeman's robes clapped its cymbals together. A second later a massive bolt of lighting came down and struck Lightning Warrior, reducing him to ashes. Another Lost Soul Counter appeared and began to wander the forest.

"What happened?" Aki asked.

"Because I used my Cursed Cymbal Monkey to summon Zeman, Zeman inherited its curse." Luna explained with a mad grin. "During each of our Standby Phases when the monkey chimes its cymbals, a monster on the field other than Zeman dies."

"But doesn't that mean your own monsters and your brother's are in danger of being destroyed too?" Yusei pointed out.

"What do I care?" Luna laughed. "If they die, they die. And their deaths will bring more lost souls to the forest."

"You'll have to forgive my sister. She can be a little nuts sometimes." Leo chimed in. "Anyway, I don't see what the big deal is. They're just cards, right? If they buy it, so what?"

Aki turned her attention back to her hand. The duel was quickly becoming very one-sided, and if things continued the way they were, both she and Yusei would be in big trouble. It was a bit drastic, but there was only one move she could make.

"First I summon Twilight Rose Knight in attack Mode!" Aki announced. The small blue-haired warrior materialized on the field. "And with his effect, I also summon Rose Lover!"

Materializing alongside the young knight was a young woman with long blonde hair. She wore a red dress and a pair of red elbow-high gloves. Tied in the left side of her hair was a single red rose.

"I tune the level three Twilight Rose Knight into the level four Rose Lover for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Aki announced.

Twilight Rose Knight flashed orange and became three green rings of light. Upon being encircled by the rings, Rose Lover became four balls of white light.

"Chilling Flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark Flower set into bloom!" Aki chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

"I activate my Trap, Rage of Lost Souls!" Luna suddenly announced. "Since Forest of Lost Souls is active, I can negate the summoning of your monster and destroy it."

Only seconds after Black Rose Dragon appeared in a burst of purple flames, it cried out as something suddenly burst out of it from the inside. The dragon shattered into bits of red light, and three new lost spirits began to roam the dead forest.

"Since my Trap killed your dragon, another Lost Soul Counter has been added to the forest." Luna continued. "Plus Rage of Lost Souls adds two more counters of its own. So are you going to make another move, or are you done for this turn?"

"Before I end my turn, there's something I want to ask the two of you." Aki replied. "Why are you both working for Lucciano?"

"That's none of your business!" Leo told her.

"We might as well tell them, Leo." Luna cut in. "She probably won't end her turn until we do."

"Fine." Leo grudgingly agreed. "The reason we work for the guy is 'cause we've got nowhere else to go."

"What do you mean?" Yusei inquired.

"A few years ago, our mom and dad died in a freak car accident." Leo began. "Luna and I were pretty much on our own. It wasn't long before we were kicked out on the street."

"There was nobody to take you in?" a surprised Aki asked.

"Nobody wanted anything to do with us because of Luna's powers." Leo revealed. "They didn't like how she sometimes made weird stuff happen. Anyway, the only way for us to survive was to join the underground dueling circuit in the city. Then one night, that jerk Lucciano saw us in action and hired us to be assassins. He said it'd give him a good laugh. Though if you ask me, I say it's 'cause he's got a thing for my sister, which I don't like one bit. A lot of the time I just want to punch him in the face."

"You shouldn't say such things about dear Lucciano." Luna told him. "He was kind enough to take us in and put a roof over our heads."

"I don't get what makes him so great!" Leo shot back.

"He has charm, something you've never even heard of." Luna replied.

"Whatever!" Leo responded. "Now are you gonna end your turn, lady?"

"Yes, I end my turn." Aki announced.

"About time!" Leo complained as he drew his card. "Since I'm starting my turn, me and Luna get more life points thanks to Forest of Lost Souls."

The dead trees glowed and bombarded the twins with more sparks of yellow light, causing their life points to climb up to 16700. A second later, the small toy monkey on Zeman's robes chimed its cymbals together. A bolt of lighting came down and struck Leo's mechanical dragon. But rather than destroying Power Tool Mecha Dragon, the lightning was sucked into the gold pendant hanging from the dragon's neck.

"Why wasn't Power Tool Mecha Dragon destroyed?" Yusei wondered.

"Because Ring of Zorc stops my dragon from being destroyed, and has me send a card from the top of my deck to the Graveyard instead." Leo explained as he dumped a card into his Graveyard slot. "Looks like I lost my Gadget Hauler. No big deal. Anyway, I switch Power Tool Mecha Dragon back to Attack Mode and summon Morptronic Videon in Attack Mode too!"

Appearing on the field was a giant version of a hand-held video camera. In seconds, the camera unfolded parts of itself to take on a more humanoid shape, with the lens of the camera acting as the head.

"Next I equip Videon with Morphtronic Power Cord!" Leo announced. "And when Videon is in Attack Mode, it gains 800 ATK for each card equipped to it. This makes Videon's ATK 1800. Now I equip Power Tool Mecha Dragon with Break! Draw! And since I put an Equip Spell on him, I get to draw another card."

"Will you just get on with it already Leo?" Luna complained.

"I'm on it." Leo assured her. "Power Tool Mecha Dragon, attack Fallen Angel of Roses! Full Metal Demolition!"

"I discard Hedge Guard from my hand to protect Fallen Angel from being destroyed by this battle!" Aki announced. "Though as a cost, her ATK will be cut in half."

The mechanical dragon fired a barrage of screwdriver missiles at the Fallen Angel. At the last second, a wall of bamboo sprang up and blocked most of the missiles before being destroyed. Though some of the projectiles still made it through and dropped Yusei and Aki's life points to 5200.

"Big deal. Zeman, fry Fallen Angel with Minus Staff!" Leo commanded.

Appearing in Zeman's right hand was a silver staff with a gold U-shaped blade up at the top. The ape king thrust the staff forward and blasted the Fallen Angel with a blast of black shadowy energy. The attack reduced Yusei and Aki's life points to 3900.

"Finish it, Videon!" Leo commanded. "Lens Flare!"

Videon bent forward and zapped the couple with a beam of white light from the lens on the top of its head. Yusei and Aki swerved a bit on their D-Wheels as their life points dropped further down to 2100.

"Did ya see that, Luna?" Leo asked excitedly. "I really nailed 'em!"

"Big deal." Luna replied indifferently with a roll of her eyes.

"Man, you can be real cold Luna." Leo remarked. "I end my turn!"

Yusei drew his next card. A second after he did, the toy monkey on Zeman chimed its cymbals again. Another bolt of lightning came down and struck Video, completely vaporizing the transforming camera. Moments later, another wandering spirit began to roam the forest.

"Oops, looks like Videon just bought it." Leo observed. "Oh well."

"I summon the Tuner monster, Debris Dragon!" Yusei announced. Flying onto the battlefield was a small grey version of Stardust Dragon with stubby yet muscular limbs. "When Debris Dragon is summoned, I can Special Summon a monster with 500 ATK or less from my Graveyard. So now I bring Shield Wing back to the field!"

Debris Dragon roared and flapped its wings. And a moment later, Shield Wing rose up from the ground through a portal of gold light.

"Now, since I have a Tuner on the field, I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from the Graveyard!" Yusei announced. The bolt-covered rodent materialized next to Shield Wing. "I now tune the level four Debris Dragon into the level two Shield Wing and the level two Quillbolt Hedgehog for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Debris dragon roared before changing into four green rings of light. Upon being encircled by the rings, Yusei's two other monsters changed into four balls of light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights flashed and became a blinding pillar of white light. When the light cleared, Yusei's silvery-white dragon roared onto the field. The flapping of its wings scattered bits of stardust onto the battlefield.

"That ends my turn!" Yusei announced.

"That's it?" Leo laughed. "That was a lot of trouble for nothing."

"Can it, Leo." Luna told him as she drew from her deck. "Since it's the beginning of my turn, Forest of Lost Souls raises our life points again."

The trees glowed once more with their unearthly light and bombarded the twins with their sparks. Their life points rose up to 19700. A second later, the toy monkey chimed its cymbals.

"I activate Stardust Dragon's effect!" Yusei quickly announced. "If a card would be destroyed by a card effect, I can sacrifice Stardust Dragon to negate the effect and destroy the card!"

Just as a bolt of lightning was about to come down and strike another monster, Stardust Dragon flew at full speed and tackled Zeman. Before either of the monsters hit the ground, they shattered into bits of stardust and vanished. A second later, another Lost Soul Counter appeared in the forest.

"Oh dear. Guess it's time my brother and I stop toying around." Luna observed. "I was starting to get bored anyway. I'll start by summoning Regulus to the field in Attack Mode."

Materializing to move alongside Leo and Luna was a white lion with a golden mane. The front half of his body was clad in silver armor, and he had a silver horn on his forehead. The lion's eyes were completely pitch-black.

"Next I remove another Wish Counter from Monkey's Paw to bring Berry, the Forest Swordsman, back from the Graveyard." Luna announced. "And I don't think I need to remind you that when Berry is summoned, he deals 300 points of damage."

The severed paw withdrew another finger, so that it made the hand signal for the number one. The porcupine warrior reappeared in a ball of eerie green light before charging forward and slashing both Yusei and Aki with his swords. Their life points dropped down to 1800.

"I now tune the level three Berry into the level four Regulus for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Luna announced.

Berry changed into three purpled rings of light and encircled Regulus. In turn, the lion was transformed into four balls of black energy.

"The unholy light of destruction, shine now and bring eternal darkness!" Luna chanted. "Synchro Summon! A wretched birth! Wicked Fairy Dragon!"

The lights flashed to become a massive black pillar of energy. The energy soon faded to reveal a blue dragon with a serpent-like body, red eyes, and two long thin arms with gold bands at the wrists. It had long green hair and a pair of wing-like fins at the sides of its head. On the back of the dragon was a pair of pinkish and very magnificent almost insect-like wings. Adorning the dragon's chest and arms were the same kind of red markings that were on Power Tool Mecha Dragon.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Matrix Fusion!" Luna announced. "Using this card, I combine my Wicked Fairy Dragon and Leo's Power Tool Mecha Dragon on the field with Meklord Emperor Skiel from my deck to Fusion Summon Meklord Avatar-Despair Dragon Mecha Fairy in Defense Mode!"

The twins' dragons merged into a single ball of blue light that rose up high into the air. The light formed into a large mechanical dragon with a blue torso that had a black window in the shape of an infinity symbol on the chest. Its lower half was a long grey tail that ended in a sort of laser cannon. The dragon had four arms similar to the ones of Leo's original mechanical dragon. The upper right arm ended in a large talon-like claw, while the lower right arm had a sort of pincer that looked as if it was made from a pair of backhoe scoops. The dragon's upper left arm was a sort of spear gun-like weapon, while the lower left arm ended in a sort of jackhammer-like attachment. The mechanical dragon also had two heads at the end of a pair of long grey necks. The left head looked like a mechanical version of Wicked Fairy Dragon's head, while the right head was a blue version of Power Tool Mecha Dragon's head.

"There's more." Luna continued. "If a monster equipped with Ring of Zorc is used for a Tribute, Fusion, Ritual, or Synchro Summon, Ring of Zorc is equipped to the summoned monster. Which means Ring of Zorc is now placed on Mecha Fairy."

The strange gold pendant that was on Leo's dragon rose into the air and attached itself the Mecha Fairy just above the window on its chest. As soon as it did a black electrical energy shot down from the cursed ring and struck the twins. Leo and Luna cried out as evil laughter filled the air. Aki and Yusei both recognized the laugh as the one they heard in the forest earlier when Luna first played the ring. Eventually the black energy stopped and the twins slumped forward on their three-wheeled vehicle, which was driving itself by autopilot.

A black beam then shot out from the ring and took the form of a young man with pale skin and long white hair. The spirit had an evil grin and mad eyes, and wore a short-sleeved blue and white-stripped shirt and pale-blue jeans.

_"At long last, I have finally risen again!"_ the spirit laughed.

"Who are you?" Yusei demanded to know.

_"I have gone by many names over the years."_ The spirit replied. _"But since I seem to be in the form of my previous host, you may call me Bakura."_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Like I said up top, I wasn't planning to have Yami Bakura make an appearance in this story. He was pretty much the inspiration behind some of the cards Luna's used in this duel though. In fact Ring of Zorc is pretty much based on the Millennium Ring. Anyway, as I was trying to figure out a way to end this duel, I kept thinking that Yami Bakura, or at least some sort of remnant of him, showing up near the end of the duel would be an interesting twist. So I decided to go with it. For some reason though, I can't shake this feeling that a lot of people aren't going to like this little development. Of course I'll explain how it is that Bakura's come back in the next chapter.

Another little twist I had decided to put into this duel long before starting the prologue of this story was to have Luna use Zeman the Ape King. Obviously he's a regular Synchro monster in this story. The Tuner used to summon him though was a card I made up based on the toy monkey from a Stephen King short story called _The Monkey_. That same short story was ripped off to make a movie called _The Devil's Gift_, which was in turn edited to be used as part of a movie called _Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders_. Which some reading might fondly recall as being used for an episode of _Mystery Science Theater 3000_.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	18. Blazing Rose Dragon

**Author's Note:** I forgot to mention last author's note that because Ancient Fairy Dragon's Duel Dragon counterpart currently doesn't have its own distinct name in the TCG, I decided to just call it Wicked Fairy Dragon for the purposes of this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. If I did, Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend wouldn't have been the only Signer Dragons to get evolved forms. Also, the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 17: Blazing Rose Dragon

_"What an interesting age this is."_ Bakura remarked. _"To think that Duel Monsters is now played using motorcycles. Though I suppose it was the natural evolution, the only way to make the game more extreme."_

"What are you?" Aki demanded to know. "And what have you done to Leo and Luna?"

_"Fair questions, I suppose."_ Bakrua admitted. _"To tell you exactly what I am would take far too long. I will tell you though that I am not human, and that my spirit once inhabited a relic known as the Millennium Ring. For centuries the ring was passed from person to person, each one of them becoming my host for a time until they served their purpose. Then at last my ring came into the possession of the young man who became my previous host, Ryo Bakura."_

A chill ran down Aki's spine, for she had heard the name before. The Skeleton Knight had mentioned that name to both her and Yusei shortly before the duel. And now it was clear why he did.

_"Using Ryo, I set about to achieve my ultimate goal."_ Bakura continued. _"But I've always been the type who was cautious. So I took certain measures to try and preserve myself in case I failed in my plans. Shortly after a tournament you might've heard of a Duelist Kingdom, I found a blank Spell card and used the power of the Millennium Ring to put a portion of my soul into it. The card became an Equip Spell, Ring of Zorc. The very card that my little puppets used in this duel."_

"So you've been manipulating the twins through that card?" Yusei realized.

_"Very astute."_ Bakura confirmed. _"Unfortunately, my other self lost in trying to achieve our goal and was destroyed. Miraculously I survived, but I became dormant. I slept for I don't know how long until my card was found by another dark power. Slowly I started to reawaken. Then at some point I was given to my little friends, Leo and Luna, along with a pair of dragon cards. Seeing a good opportunity, I infused part of myself into both dragon cards just before being given to the twins. Then like I virus I spread myself throughout their entire decks and slowly began to control them. It was not complete control, but it was just enough."_

"So how is it that you're talking to us right now?" Aki asked. "What's changed?"

_"The only way for me to gain total control was for the twins to equip Ring of Zorc to the fusion of both their dragons."_ Bakura explained. _"And thanks to you, that has finally happened. I'll have to thank you both in the most marvelous way I know how. By entombing you both in the shadows!"_

_"What's going on here?"_ a familiar voice interrupted. Aki and Yusei looked at the monitors of their D-Wheel consuls to see an irritated Lucciano. _"Who dares to interfere in this duel?"_

_"Ah, the little worm who's been acting and Luna and Leo's employer."_ Bakura observed. _"I'm afraid you're know longer in control here. Now that I have full dominance over the twins, your usefulness is at an end. This is my show now."_

_"Now wait just a minute!"_ Lucciano began to argue.

_"Silence!"_ Bakura commanded with a wave of his arm. The screens on Yusei and Aki's D-Wheel panels went to static. _"Now, back to the duel. This mechanical dragon isn't exactly my style, but it will serve its purpose. Since Mecha Fairy was just summoned, I can equip it with a Synchro monster from either player's Graveyard. And the monster I choose is that meddlesome Stardust Dragon."_

Mecha Fairy's chest opened up and began to suck in particles of stardust. The dust took the form of Stardust Dragon before being completely sucked inside.

_"Mecha Fairy adds the ATK of the monster equipped to it to its DEF."_ Bakura explained. _"Which means its DEF rises from 4000 to 6500. Now, as a precaution I remove six of the Lost Soul Counters wandering these woods to add a Dark monster from Luna's deck to her hand."_

The wandering phantoms gathered together and went inside Luna's deck. A card glowing with a black aura popped out of the middle of the deck and floated into her hand.

_"That ends my turn."_ Bakura announced with a sinister grin. _"I'll give you one last turn before I send the two of you to oblivion."_

Aki drew her next card. She knew that there was only one way that she and Yusei could possibly win. Though she was very unsure she could pull it off. Yet she had to try anyway. Not only because it seemed that her and Yusei's lives were on the line, the lives of the twins were on the line as well. She wanted to save them from Bakura, Luna especially. After all, Aki knew what it was like to be rejected for having strange powers.

"I summon the Tuner monster, Glow-Up Bulb!" Aki announced.

Materializing on the field was a large brown seed with a colorful flower growing out of the top. A vertical eye opened up on the seed's front.

"Now, since I have a Tuner on the field, I can summon Dark Verger back from the Graveyard!" Aki announced. The small plant sprouted up back up next to Glow-Up Bulb. "I now tune the level one Glow-Up Bulb into the level two Dark Verger for a level three Synchro Summon!"

Glow-Up Bulb burst into a ball of red flames before becoming a single ring of reddish-pink light. The light encircled Dark Verger and transformed it into two balls of red flames.

"The flames of hope spark into blazing flowers! Their scattered petals create the path toward tomorrow!" Aki chanted. "Synhcro Summon! Ignite, Synchro Tuner, Cyber Rose Angel!"

The ring and fireballs burst into a pillar of pinkish-red fire. After a moment, the flames subsided to reveal the cybernetic plant angel that Bruno had given her that morning before the duel.

"Since I summoned Cyber Rose Angel, my opponent takes 300 points of damage!" Aki announced.

Cyber Rose Angel turned around and fired a ball of red flames at Leo and Luna from her mechanical gauntlet. The fireball struck and dropped the twins' life points drop slightly to 19400.

_"That's the best you can do?"_ Bakura laughed. _"How pathetic."_

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Aki announced.

_"Very well. Then it's my turn again."_ Bakura announced. _"Or rather Leo's."_

Leo mindlessly drew a card from his deck. As soon as he did, the dead trees of the forest bombarded the twins with yellow specks of light, raising their life points to 22400. Aki raised the visor of her helmet and took a deep breath.

"I activate my Trap, Wicked Rebirth!" Aki announced. "By paying 800 life points I can bring Black Rose Dragon back from the Graveyard!"

A whirlwind of red rose petals picked up near Aki. An in a burst of purple flames, Black Rose Dragon roared back onto the battlefield.

_"You foolish girl!"_ Bakura laughed. _"All you've done is made it possible for me to take you both out with a single shot. Mecha Fairy's effect allows me to destroy an opponent's monster and inflict damage equal to half its ATK points. I was originally planning to use Monkey's Paw to bring back another monster to attack you after destroying that pathetic monster you summoned, but this makes things much quicker."_

Aki paid no attention to Bakura's words and closed her eyes. She felt the wind blowing against her face and slowly began to speed up on her D-Wheel.

"Ice cold flames ignite into a new burning star!" Aki began to chant.

_"I activate Mecha Fairy's effect to destroy Black Rose Dragon!"_ Bakura announced.

"Crimson Flower bloom into a new evolution!" Aki continued as she started to become shrouded in a pinkish-red light. "Accel Synchro!"

Bakura's mechanical dragon fired two beams of blue light down at Black Rose Dragon. Bu before the beams could hit, Aki and her two monsters shot away in a streak of light. Just before they did, Cyber Rose Angel had become three pink rings of light that had encircled Black Rose, and a new card had appeared in Aki's hand. Mecha Fairy's beams struck the ground where Aki was only a second before.

_"What? Where did she go?"_ a surprised Bakura demanded to know.

"Wait for it." Yusei smirked.

Only seconds later, Aki emerged from another steak of light that had zoomed up from behind the twins. "Be born, Blazing Rose Dragon!"

Bursting out of the light with Aki was a large four-legged dragon with a slender body. It had four large wings on its back covered in red rose petals. On its head, the dragon had two long red slightly curved horns and a pair of red spikes on each side of its head. The back of the dragon's neck was covered in rose petals, while the front of the neck was covered in black scales. The rose petals also spread to the front of the dragon's chest, while its belly was covered in more black armor-like scales. The dragon's long bare brown legs ended in sharp red talon-like claws, and at the end of its body were two thick brown tails covered in red thorns.

_"What have you done?"_ Bakura demanded to know.

"When Blazing Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned, she destroys all Spell and Trap cards on the field!" Aki revealed. "That includes Yusei's Stardust Dragon, Ring of Zorc, Monkey's Paw, and even the Forest of Lost Souls!"

Blazing Rose Dragon roared and flapped her four wings. In seconds, a sea of red flames consumed the dead misty forest. The fire vaporized the severed monkey's paw and even melted the cursed ring off of Mecha Fairy's chest. Stardust Dragon burst out of the wicked machine before shattering into stardust.

"In a Turbo Duel when a player uses an effect to destroy a Track Field Spell, that player can activate a new Track Field Spell of their own!" Aki announced. "So to replace Forest of Lost Souls, I now activate Rose Paradise!"

The burning forest shattered to bits and was replaced by an endless field of roses that spread out in all directions. The roses in the field were of every kind of color in the spectrum, and above was a calm blue sky filled with puffy white clouds.

"There's more!" Aki continued. "For every Spell and Trap card Blazing Rose Dragon destroys with her effect, she inflicts 200 points of damage! Which means you lose 800 life points!"

Blazing Rose Dragon glared at Bakura with her golden yellow eyes before blasting the spirit with a stream of crimson flames from her mouth. As a result, Leo and Luna's life points dropped slightly to 21600.

_"You dare attack me?"_ Bakura shot back.

"Why not? You are our opponent, aren't you?" Aki pointed out. "You should be the one to take all the hits instead of hiding behind a pair of innocent children!"

_"You little witch!"_ Bakura spat. _"I'll deal with you later. But for now I have no choice but to end my turn."_

Yusei drew his next card. "Thanks to Rose Paradise, all the monsters in our Graveyards are treated as Plant monsters. So by removing Shield Wing, who's now a Plant monster, I activate Blazing Rose Dragon's effect, switching Mecha Fairy to Attack Mode and making its ATK zero!"

A ghostly version of Shield Wing appeared before Blazing Rose Dragon and was quickly devoured. The dragon then launched its two tails forward and restrained Bakura's two-headed machine.

"Blazing Rose Dragon also gains half the ATK of the monster it uses her effect on." Yusei continued. "Which means her ATK goes up from 3200 to 4600!"

"That's not all." Aki added. "Because of Rose Paradise, when a Rose monster like Blazing Rose Dragon destroys an opponent's monster in battle, the opponent takes damage equal to that monster's DEF!"

"Blazing Rose Dragon, attack Despair Dragon Mecha Fairy!" Yusei commanded. "Crimson Rose Flare!"

The dragon reared back her head and struck its mechanical enemy with an inferno of crimson flames. Mecha Fairy exploded in a storm of fire and smoke, and the twins' life points went down to an even 13000 from both Blazing Rose Dragon's attack and the effect of Rose Paradise. When the smoke cleared though, a new monster had taken the place of Mecha Fairy. It was humanoid and had blue skin. Places on her body looked as though they had been stitched together from different parts. Her head was bald and her eyes were black with yellow irises. She had pointed ears and a pair of small antenna on her forehead. Her legs were purple and she had on an old rusted chest plate with holes on that literally exposed her ribs. On her back was a large pair of tattered black and purple butterfly wings with white skulls on them.

"What happened?" Aki wondered.

_"I told you I was cautious."_ Bakura chuckled. _"Because you destroyed my monster in battle, I was able to summon the monster I had little Luna add to her hand earlier. Meet the Tuner monster, Dark Necrofairy!"_

"Now what, Yusei?" Aki asked.

"There's nothing much we can do right now." Yusei replied. "I end my turn."

_"It seems I've played around with you both for far too long."_ Bakura declared as Luna mindlessly drew another card. _"I activate Dark Necrofairy's effect and remove Zeman the Ape King from the Graveyard to bring back another Synchro monster of the same level. Rise up, Wicked Fairy Dragon!"_

A portal of purple light appeared on the ground and Luna's dragon rose up out of it. The dragon glowed with a black aura and roared upon its reappearance.

_"They didn't have Synchro monsters back in my day, but I'm willing to give anything a try once."_ Bakura remarked. _"I tune the level five Dark Necrofairy into the level seven Wicked Fairy Dragon for a level twelve Synchro Summon!"_

Dark Necrofairy turned into five rings of purple light and encircled Wicked Fairy Dragon. In turn, the dragon became seven balls of crackling black energy. The calm sky above quickly became covered in thick black clouds.

_"Lost souls gather together, here and now! Bring forth the dragon of death!"_ Bakura chanted. _"Synchro Summon! An unholy birth! Necro Fairy Dragon!"_

The lights burst into a massive black pillar of dark energy that almost engulfed the entire area. When the energy cleared, it revealed a much larger transformed version of Wicked Fairy Dragon. Her skin had turned a slightly darker shade of blue and her eyes had become pitch black. The dragon's once green hair had turned stark white, and the fins at the sides of her head had become more bat wing-shaped. The joints of her long slender arms looked like they had been sewn together and her shoulders were covered by purple pieces of arch-shaped armor with large gold spikes. A silver female breastplate had covered the front of the dragon's torso, and on her back was a tattered pair of massive bat-like wings. The end of the dragon's tail had become the head of a hooded cobra.

_"When Necro Fairy Dragon is summoned, she removes all monsters each player's Graveyard so that she may consume their spirits and become stronger!"_ Bakura announced.

The dragon opened her mouth and roared. In seconds ghostly apparitions of almost every monster that had been played during the duel were sucked into her open mouth. Once all of the spirits had been sucked in, Necro Fairy Dragon slammed her jaws shut.

_"For each soul that Necro Fairy Dragon has devoured, her ATK points rise by 1000!"_ Bakura gleefully announced. _"Which means Necro Fairy Dragon's ATK points are now 27000! Necro Fairy Dragon, attack Blazing Rose with Black Death Inferno!"_

Necro Fairy Dragon opened her mouth wide and gathered a mass of black flames between her jaws. In moments that dragon let loose a wave of black fire.

"I activate Blazing Rose Dragon's effect!" Aki quickly announced. "By removing her from the field until the end of the turn, she can negate one attack!"

Only a split second before the maelstrom of black fire hit, Blazing Rose Dragon vanished in a flash of red light. A twister of red rose petals then appeared and dispelled the flames.

_"It seems you've managed to buy yourselves just one more turn."_ An irritated Bakura observed. _"Fine, I shall end my turn. And to keep Necro Fairy Dragon on the field, I pay 1000 life points. But before you begin, let me point out that it is hopeless for you to win. In the end, all that awaits you both is endless darkness."_

"We won't give up until you're beaten and those two kids are safe!" Yusei declared.

_"Do you mortals have any idea what I am?"_ Bakura laughed. _"I am a darkness beyond all imagination! I have existed for thousands of years!"_

"Even if that's true, we'll still find a way to beat you!" Aki insisted. "Neither of us is going to rest until Leo and Luna are free of you for good!"

_"You actually care about these pathetic children?"_ Bakura chuckled. _"They're nothing! And if you asked them, they'd tell you the same thing! All they are good for is serving as my pawns!"_

"That's not true!" Aki argued. "No one deserves to live the life they've led! Especially not Luna! And they certainly don't deserve to be used by a monster like you!"

Suddenly the dragon marks on Yusei and Aki's arms both lit up with a brilliant crimson light. A red claw-shaped mark then appeared on Luna's right arm, and both her eyes and Leo's began to glow with an odd crimson light.

_"Impossible! That's the same power that prevented me from gaining full control of the twins from the start!"_ a surprised Bakura revealed. _"But I thought I had finally suppressed it when I rose in this duel!"_

The top card on Aki's deck began to glow red. Since it was her turn, she drew the card from her deck. The light faded as Aki held the card in her hand, revealing an effect monster card Aki had never seen before. It was primarily red in color and looked like a cross between a dragon and a space ship. The dragon ship had five pairs of wings. Four of the pairs were black and shaped almost like plane wings. The front pair of wings meanwhile was red and looked like a large pair of laser cannons.

"From my hand, I equip Blazing Rose Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapon-Demon Slayer Cannon!" Aki announced.

The mechanical dragon burst down from the black clouds above, creating a hole of light where it broke through. The ship clamped onto Blazing Rose Dragon's back. Its neck retracted and its front pair of wings swung forward to become a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons.

_"And just what do you hope to do with that little toy?"_ a still very confident Bakura asked.

"Because she's equipped with Demon Slayer Cannon, Blazing Rose Dragon can't be destroyed in battle with Dark attribute monsters." Aki explained. "But when she battles a Dark monster, that monster is destroyed and my opponent takes damage equal that monster's ATK."

_"What?"_ Bakura exclaimed.

"Blazing Rose Dragon, destroy Necro Fairy Dragon and end this darkness!" Aki commanded. "Purification Buster!"

Blazing Rose Dragon opened her jaws and light began to charge in her two cannons. In seconds, she blasted Necro Fairy with a massive blast of pink and white light. Glowing white cracks began to spread over the dark dragon's body, and the same type of cracks appeared on Bakura as well.

_"No! This can't be! I can't be defeated again!"_ Bakura shouted. _"No! No! NOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Necro Fairy Dragon roared in pain before finally exploding into a blinding flash of white light that spread over the entire area. The twins' life points dropped from 12000 to zero in less then a second. Before long, the light of the explosion finally faded. Both dragons had vanished, and the area had once more become the wasteland of Satellite.

"You okay?" Aki asked Yusei.

"Yeah." Yusei assured her. "That was a big one."

The couple then heard the sounds of two approaching D-Wheels. It wasn't long before Yusei and Aki saw that it was Crow and Raven. The other couple pulled up in front of Aki and Yusei before dismounting.

"What the hell happened here?" Crow asked. "The whole sky just lit up."

"It's a long story." Yusei replied. "What brought you two here?"

"We were wrapping up another search when Crow's mark and the seal on my back suddenly went crazy." Raven explained. "We knew that you guys were involved. And when we saw that explosion we rushed right over. It's a good thing we were near by."

"Hey, what happened to Leo and Luna?" Aki suddenly realized.

The four looked around and saw the twins lying on the ground unconscious. They had been thrown from their D-Wheel, which had completely flipped over. Immediately, Yusei and the others rushed over. Crow and Yusei went over to check on Leo, while Raven and Aki tended to Luna. The cards from both the twins' decks had scattered on the ground all around. Some of the cards suddenly burned up with black flames and turned to ashes. Yusei glanced at the ground and saw that one of the burning cards was Ring of Zorc. Needless to say, he was quite glad to see it burn up.

Meanwhile, Raven rolled up Luna's sleeve as she checked out the girl's injuries. Both she and Aki were surprised to see the red claw-shaped mark that was on her arm.

"This girl's a Signer." Raven realized. "What the heck is going on?"

"I can tell you about it later." Aki replied. "How is she?"

"Well, she doesn't actually seem to be hurt that badly." Raven replied. "But we should get her and that boy back to the Nest as quickly as possible. We can send someone to get what's left of their D-Wheel and their decks later."

Aki glanced down at the ground and saw Wicked Fairy's dragon's card near Luna. She noticed that the card was glowing with a feint red aura. Aki picked up the card, and suddenly it lit up with a brilliant red light. The light cleared, and the card had almost completely transformed. The dragon had taken on a much lighter aspect, and she no longer bore the glowing red marks that were on its body before.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon?" Aki read as she looked at the name of the transformed card.

"That pretty much confirms that this girl is a Signer." Raven replied. "Ancient Fairy Dragon is one of the Crimson Dragon's servants."

"Hey, here's another one." Crow observed as he found Power Tool Mecha Dragon's card and picked it up. The card flashed red in his hand and transformed. "Power Tool Dragon, huh? Hey Raven, does the Crimson Dragon have any robot dragons working for it?"

"Not that I know of." Raven replied. "Let's just get these two back to the Nest, and quick."

* * *

Yusei walked into the makeshift hospital area of the Bird's Nest. He found Aki sitting at Luna's bedside. Leo was unconscious in the bed over from Luna's left. The evening sun was starting to set outside the window on the wall above Luna's bed.

"Any change?" Yusei asked.

"No." Aki replied grimly. "But Raven thinks they'll both be just fine."

"They should, after she used that power of hers on them." Yusei pointed out.

"Did you find anything out about Bakura, or whatever that thing was?" Aki asked.

"Saiga did a little checking." Yusei answered. "There was a Ryo Bakura who took part in the old Battle City Tournament that took place many years ago. He made it all the way to the first round of the finals, only to get beaten by the famous Yugi Muto. Aside from that, there really doesn't seem to be much info on him. Saiga said he'd keep digging though."

"Maybe we'll never know what he was." Aki assumed.

"Maybe not." Yusei agreed. "It's been a long day, Aki. I think we should both get some rest."

Before Aki could agree, Luna suddenly stirred. She began thrashing on the bed as if she were in the grip of a terrible nightmare.

"No! Let me go! NO!" Luna cried out before shooting up in bed.

"It's okay. You're safe now." Aki quickly assured her.

"What? Where am I? Who are you?" a frightened Luna asked.

"You're at a place called the Bird's Nest. No one will hurt you here." Aki answered. "I'm Aki, and that's Yusei. Don't you remember us?"

"No… yes… I don't know." Luna replied. "I feel like I've been stuck in a really bad dream for a really long time."

Luna glanced down and noticed that her right arm was exposed, revealing the red mark on her forearm. Frightened, she quickly attempted to hide her arm under her blanket.

"It's okay, you don't have to hide that from us." Aki told her as she removed her right glove to reveal her own dragon mark. "I've got one too, see? Yusei also has one, only his is shaped like a head."

Luna hesitantly reached out to touch Aki's arm with her right hand. She flinched a bit as if afraid that the mark was going to reach out and bite her. But at last she brought her hand to touch Aki's arm.

"Can you do strange things because of your mark too?" Luna asked, becoming a little calmer.

"Yes I can." Aki confirmed. "What kind of powers do you have?"

"I can see and talk to Duel Monster spirits." Luna answered. "Sometimes they even make things happen for me. It's never been anything bad, but people think I'm strange because of it. That's why they don't want anything to do with me."

"Well that won't happen here." Aki assured her.

"My brother. Is my brother Leo okay?" Luna suddenly asked. "Where is he?"

"He's right here." Yusei answered, pointing to the other bed. "He's a little banged up, but he'll be okay."

Tears began to roll down Luna's face. Aki promptly pulled her into a hug.

"I don't remember at all how I got here." Luna went on. "The last thing I remember was Leo and I getting those strange cards."

"What kind of cards?" Yusei asked.

"Well, there were a couple of dragons that Leo and I each took." Luna recalled. "And also a strange Spell card with a picture of some kind of ring on it."

"Luna… who gave you those cards?" Aki asked a little hesitantly.

"…It was a living skeleton." Luna revealed after a moment in a whisper. "He called himself a knight. He told us if we wanted to survive, we'd need those cards."

Both Yusei and Aki went a little pale and gave each other troubled looks. They both knew that Luna could only be talking about the Skeleton Knight. The real question at that moment was, what the Skeleton Knight was really up to?

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter is one of those times when I wish this site would let us include illustrations with some of our stories. I have very clear pictures of both Cyber Rose Angel and Blazing Rose Dragon in my head. Actually I have a pretty clear image of Necro Fairy Dragon too. It's sort of a cross between Ancient Fairy Dragon, Dark Necrofear, and Thief King Bakura's fully evolved Diabound. Maybe at some point I'll draw these three monsters and put them online somewhere.

In the end, the thing that made me decide whether or not to include Yami Bakura in this story was if I could come up with a decent explanation of how he was able to return. I recalled how Bakura could use the Millennium Ring to put parts of himself in other items, and thought that maybe he could've put a backup copy of himself into a Spell card to try and cheat death. Hours after I came up with this explanation, I realized that it was very similar to what a certain evil wizard did in a certain series of best selling novels about a certain kid going to a school for wizards. Still, it also turned out to be a good way to explain how Ancient Fairy Dragon and Power Tool Dragon were corrupted into their evil Duel Dragon counterparts.

Just like Bakura, Necro Fairy Dragon was also a pretty last minute addition. I realized that no matter how I edited the duel or the card effects, Leo and Luna's life points were just way too high for the destruction of Despair Dragon Mecha Fairy to win the duel. And when I got the idea for Bakura to pretty much take things over, I decided that it'd be more appropriate for him to use a monster that represented him rather than Lucciano. That's pretty much how both Necro Fairy Dragon and Demon Slayer Cannon were born. Admittedly, this duel pretty much ended the same way I ended the final duel in another Yu-Gi-Oh! story I did once. But it was the best solution I could come up with.

Next chapter, we will return to our regularly scheduled villains. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	19. On A Calm Evening

**Author's Note:** Once more I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, especially sammycrusinix. I've been worried that I haven't been portraying Raven in the right way. So I'm real glad to know I've been doing a good job on that end. I'l try and keep it up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 18: On A Calm Evening

It had been a very uneventful week since Yusei and Aki dueled the entity that had been using Leo and Luna. It had been a slow process, but Leo and Luna had been recovering. Though Luna hardly remembered much of anything that had happened since she and her brother had received the Ring of Zorc. And what little she did remember from that time felt like some sort of bizarre nightmare. Leo did seem to remember a little more of that dark time than his sister, but it was mostly fragments. And he remembered nothing from the duel he and Luna had with Yusei and Aki.

But memory or not, the twins had become far from the pair of delinquent assassins that Aki and Yusei had first encountered. That afternoon, Yusei and Leo were having a friendly duel up on the roof of the Bird's Nest as Luna and Aki watched with Crow and Raven. The only monster Leo had on the field was his Power Tool Dragon and an Equip Spell, while Yusei only had Junk Blader and a set card.

"Power Tool Dragon, attack Yusei's Junk Blader!" Leo commanded. "Crafty Break!"

"I activate my Trap, Scrapiron Scarecrow!" Yusei announced.

Leo's yellow mechanical dragon moved in to crush Yusei's monster with its large shovel claw. But before Power Tool Dragon could strike, a scarecrow of junk appeared and blocked the attack with an invisible barrier.

"Dang. Well, I guess I have to end my turn." Leo announced. "But I don't see how I could lose at this point."

Yusei smirked and drew his next card. "First I summon Junk Armor in Attack Mode! Then I discard a card to Special Summon Jackie Jumper!"

The rusted living suit of armor materialized onto the field. Followed soon by Yusei's ski-jumping robot.

"Now I tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level two Junk Armor for a level five Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Jackie Jumper flashed orange and became three rings of green light. The rings encircled Junk Armor and changed it into two balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the rise of a boundary breaking fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Launch! Catapult Warrior!"

The lights flashed into a pillar of light. The faded to reveal a large warrior covered head to toe in futuristic blue and white armor. A red gem-like sphere was embedded in his chest, and on his shoulders he had two long grey panels that looked like launch pads.

"That is a pretty cool-looking monster." Leo admitted. "But it only has 1000 ATK. It can't do much against my Power Tool Dragon."

"ATK points aren't everything." Yusei pointed out. "I activate Catapult Warrior's effect! By sacrificing a Junk monster like Junk Blader, Catapult Warrior inflicts damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

"But, Junk Blader has 1600 ATK." Leo realized. "And I've only got 1300 life points left. So that means… uh-oh."

The launch platform on Catapult Warrior's right arm swung up into position. Junk Blader jumped up onto the platform and kneeled down as if getting ready to run in a marathon. Catapult Warrior took aim at Leo and fired Junk Blader down at him. The armored warrior hurled into the young green-haired duelist, knocking him to the ground and dropping his life points down to zero. With the duel over, the monsters on the field vanished.

"Aw man! That's my sixth lose in a row. I guess I lost my touch when my brain got fried by whatever that card was." Leo assumed as he got back to his feet.

"Don't get down on yourself. You've got a lot of potential as a duelist." Yusei assured him as he walked up. "Your problem is that you're too focused on only using tactics you like. In a duel, you have to be more flexible and adapt to counter your opponent's moves."

"I think I get what you're saying." Leo replied with a half smile. "Maybe I should try working on my deck."

"Um, I could help you with that, Leo." Luna offered. "That is, if you want me to."

"Sure Luna. I could use all the help I can get." Leo agreed.

"Why don't I show you kids to the card storehouse?" Raven offered. "I'm sure you could find a lot of cards that could help both your decks."

"Cool!" Leo eagerly agreed. "Hey Yusei, thanks for the duel."

"No problem." Yusei replied.

"Glad to see those kids are doing okay, considering what happened to 'em." Crow remarked as the twins went off with Raven.

"Seems like Luna's still a little shy though." Aki pointed out.

"Give her time. It took you a little while to open up too, remember?" Yusei reminded her.

"That's true." Aki admitted. "I just wish I could do a little more."

"You're doing a great job." Yusei assured her.

"Well, I don't know about you guys. But I'm gonna go out on patrol." Crow informed them. "See you two later."

* * *

The evening sun began to set over the horizon as Yusei stood out on the deck of his and Aki's apartment. From the deck, Yusei had a clear view of Neo Domino in the far distance. He had been looking out at the city from time to time almost every evening since coming to the Nest. Aki walked out onto the deck and stood next to Yusei.

"You want to go there to the city, don't you?" Aki deduced. "I've seen you stand out here for hours looking at it."

"Haven't you ever thought about going back to Neo Domino?" Yusei asked.

"Why? There's nothing left for me over there." Aki reminded him. "My parents are dead and I have no other relatives. Pretty much everything I have is here."

"I guess that's true." Yusei admitted.

"So, why do you want to go to the city?" Aki asked again.

"It's Jack." Yusei answered after a moment. "There's still a lot I have to settle with him."

"Is this about you last duel with him in the Pit?" Aki asked. "The one where you faced him when he was an eliminator?"

"Pretty much." Yusei confirmed. "I guess I've never told you about what happened in that duel."

"So what happened?" Aki asked.

"Jack had summoned a monster called Dark Highlander." Yusei began. "It was a card that pretty much stopped me from Synchro Summoning. Fortunately, I already had my Scarred Warrior out. On my last turn, I drew Synchro Deflector and set it on the field. It would've let me turn the whole duel around. But when I tried to activate it when Jack attacked, nothing happened. Jack beat me with that last attack."

"So what happened? Did you D-Wheel malfunction?" she asked.

"I had triple checked everything before the duel started. All the systems were working perfectly." Yusei replied. "But for some reason during the duel, the Spell and Trap card reader all malfunctioned. And when I checked after the duel, it was working perfectly."

"Then does that mean that Jack cheated?" a shocked Aki realized.

"It is the most logical explanation. Especially since no one's ever beaten an eliminator." Yusei pointed out. "But… I know Jack. And while he can be pretty stuck up, he always dueled with honor. So I can't just accept that he would cheat, at least not without a good reason. That's why I have to get to the city… somehow."

"…Hey, how 'bout we go out for a ride?" Aki suggested after a moment.

"At this hour? The sun's almost set." Yusei pointed out. "Where exactly would we go?"

"You'll see." Aki winked.

* * *

Crow entered the penthouse apartment he shared with Raven. It had been a quiet run out in the gang's territory. As Crow walked into the living room, he saw Raven sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hi there." Raven greeted as she looked up from her book. "Was it a quiet patrol?"

"Yep, all quiet on the western front." Crow replied before kissing her on the cheek and sitting down next to her. "Where are the twins?"

"They went back to their room." She answered. "I'm sure Leo's going to spend a good chunk of the night trying to improve his deck."

"Yeah, I bet." Crow chuckled. "So what're you reading?"

"It's a book on Ancient Egypt that Saiga managed to get for me." Raven answered. "I've been trying to figure out what it was that was possessing Leo and Luna. Aki mentioned that it had something to do with a card called the Ring of Zorc, so I thought that might be a clue. Apperantly there's some obscure Egyptian myth about a demon called Zorc that tried to shroud the world in darkness, but a young pharaoh stopped him. Not much else about it though. There's only a page about it in the book."

"Well, it doesn't really matter now though. Does it?" Crow pointed out. "I mean the thing's dead, thanks to Yusei and Aki."

"I guess you're right." Raven admitted as she put the book on the coffee table. "…Crow, darling, how long have we been married?"

"About over a year and a half. Why?" Crow asked. "Oh crap! I didn't forget out anniversary, did I?"

"No, that's still not for awhile." Raven chuckled. "I just asked because I was thinking it was about time that we… you know."

"That we what?" a clueless Crow asked.

"The kind of thing that a married couple does to… express their love." Raven answered as she put her hand on his.

"…Oh." Crow replied upon realizing what Raven was implying. "Are you sure? I mean I've wanted to, but only if and when you were ready."

"I think a year and a half is plenty of time for me to get ready." Raven pointed out. "Plus we are married, even though it was sort of an accident. So… shall we go back to our room?"

"Hey, you don't have to tell me twice." Crow replied as he picked Raven up bridal style.

* * *

The moon hung high above the wasteland as Yusei followed behind Aki on his D-Wheel. He still had no idea where she was taking him. Wherever it was though seemed to be a good distance away from the Bird's Nest. They had been riding for almost an hour before Yusei finally saw where it was they were headed. It was a small body of water by a hillside surrounded by some large rocks and a few dead trees. They pulled up to the site only a few feet away.

"What is this place?" Yusei asked.

"It's a naturally occurring hot spring." Aki answered as she dismounted. "Bandit and Raven took me here a few weeks ago. Care to join me?"

"Oh, well… I didn't really bring a swimsuit or anything." Yusei replied as his face turned a deep shade of red.

"Neither did I." Aki pointed out as she started to unzip her riding suit. "So…?"

"Oh… okay." Yusei finally agreed.

* * *

Lucciano paced around the throne room of the Infinity spire with an angry scowl on his face. He had been in a foul mood ever since Bakura had taken over Leo and Luna's duel. Not only had he lost control of the duel, he had lost his two best assassins. Or rather his two best toys.

Jose entered the room and sighed upon seeing his counterpart's foul mood. "How long are you going to let this defeat anger you?"

"It isn't just a matter of defeat!" Lucciano reminded him. "Someone interfered in my plan, and in our divine mission! And I want to find whoever it was and fry him!"

"Well brooding around here won't help you in that task." Jose pointed out. "Besides, we must remain focused on our ultimate goal."

"You know… you're right Jose." Lucciano agreed after a moment with a grin. "We should remain focused on our mission. Which means we need to make sure that no one interferes, especially Fudo. Which is why I'll eliminate him myself."

"I hope you're not intending to do anything rash." Jose warned.

"Relax, I'm not going to make the same kind of mistake that fool, Placido, made." Lucciano assured him. "But he was right about one thing. Sometimes if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

* * *

Yusei and Aki headed back to the Bird's Nest after what could be considered a very invigorating dip in the hot spring. Yusei felt as if everything was right with the world. At that moment his worries all seemed very far away. But they suddenly seemed to come rushing all back as a very familiar wave of cold fog hit him and Aki. The couple halted their D-Wheels as soon as the Skeleton Knight appeared before them.

"I trust you two are enjoying the evening." The Skeleton Knight chuckled.

"We know that you gave Leo and Luna a card that had an evil spirit inside it!" Aki angrily told him.

"Oh dear, did I really give those children a card that housed a demon?" the undead horseman asked in a far too innocent tone. "How careless of me. Still, you both handled the matter quite well."

"What do you want?" Yusei demanded to know.

"Only to warn you that the triad is most likely going to make another move." The Skeleton Knight answered. "And very soon, most likely. So you should be ready."

"Why is it that you want the triad to be taken out?" Yusei asked. "What's in it for you?"

"My goals don't matter." The knight replied. "In the end, putting an end to the triad's plans is what's best for everyone. They told you themselves that they intend to destroy Neo Domino and Satellite. So we don't really have any other option but to work together on this."

"Fine! But don't think for a minute that I trust you." Yusei told him.

"I would think it foolish of you did." The Skeleton Knight chuckled.

With that, the fog became thick once more and rolled away. Yusei and Aki were left alone once again under the moonlit sky.

"What do you think he's planning for when we do beat what's left of the triad?" Aki wondered.

"Whatever it is probably isn't good." Yusei assumed. "But I guess we at least sort of know where we stand with him."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry if this wasn't much of a chapter. I mainly wanted to take a break from a lot of the major dueling. At the very least, I implied that Yusei and Aki took their relationship to the next level in this chapter. I had thought about changing this story's rating to show the rest of that scene. But I held back mainly because I wanted to keep this story at its current T rating. At the very least though, I may do a separate oneshot that shows what was cut out of this chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	20. Lucciano Strikes

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. For some reason I was afriad it would be boring.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven was created by sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 19: Lucciano Strikes

It was mid-morning at the Bird's Nest, and the day was shaping up to be a quiet one. That morning, Leo and Luna went down to the garage to find Yusei. The two of them had spent a good part of the day testing out Leo's deck, and Leo eagerly wanted to show Yusei the improvements. And perhaps challenge him to another duel. But when the twins arrived downstairs, they saw Yusei busy packing things into a large brown leather bag on the side of his D-Wheel. Aki was also there doing them same, as were Crow, Raven, and Kiryu.

"Hey, are you guys going somewhere?" Leo asked.

"We're going to go visit the orphanage where Yusei, Kiryu, and I grew up." Crow explained to them. "We'll probably be gone for most of the day, so you two stay out of trouble."

"I still don't think that me going with is such a good idea." Kiryu told them. "I'm sure Martha doesn't want anything to do with me after some of the things I've done."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kiryu. I'm sure Martha will be real happy to see you." Yusei assured him.

"Yeah man. Don't get so down on yourself." Crow agreed. "So what if you screwed up a few times? Heck, half that stuff was because of the weird card that skeleton dude gave you."

"So I guess this means none of you guys have time to duel me, huh?" a disappointed Leo deduced.

"Sorry Leo. But we can have a duel when we get back, if there's time." Yusei assured him.

"You could do Bruno." Luna suggested. "I heard he's pretty good."

"Afraid not, guys. Bruno had to go out on an emergency repair job." Crow informed him. "One of the guys had a pretty bad breakdown out in one of the far away sectors. He probably won't be back for hours."

At that moment, Saiga entered the parking garage past the twins. "Okay. All our patrol units report that everything's quiet out there. You guys can head out to Martha's without worry."

"Great. You're in charge while we're gone, Saiga." Crow replied. "Keep the place from falling apart while we're gone."

"No problem." Saiga assured him with a wave.

"You two kids stay out of trouble while we're gone." Raven told the twins.

"Yeah. Okay." Leo replied. And with that, they watched as Yusei and the others drove out of the garage.

An hour passed, and Leo and Luna were out on the roof. They had searched for another opponent for Leo to try his deck against. But everyone in the Blackbird Gang who could duel was out on patrol.

"Man, I'm bored." Leo sighed. "I finally get my deck working better and there's no one to duel."

"You could duel me again." Luna suggested.

"Thanks Luna, but we've already dueled like five times in a row today." Leo pointed out. "Dueling the same opponent over and over again gets pretty dull."

"I guess you're right." Luna admitted. "Plus you lost each one of those duels."

"You had to remind me, didn't you?" Leo sighed.

Before Luna could reply, she gasped and her eyes went wide as if in response to some unknown danger. Quickly, she ran over to the edge of the roof beside Leo. Looking over the dry ruined landscape, she saw something approach.

"Leo, look!" Luna alerted with a point of her finger.

Leo looked in the direction his sister was pointing and saw a child-like individual dressed in white, riding what looked like a sort of blue rocket-powered skateboard. A stream of long dark-red hair trailed out from under his green helmet, and mounted on his right arm was a large green glowing device that resembled a duel disk. Leo couldn't get a clear look at the skater's face, but he didn't have to see his face to know whom it was.

"Lucciano!" Leo identified with a look of rage and disgust.

The skating Lucciano stopped his board about ten feet away from the Bird's Nest. "Fuuudooo! Come out and plaaayyy! If you don't, I'm going to level this building of yours to the ground! I'll give you fifteen minutes to come out!"

Up on the roof, Saiga rushed up next to the twins and saw Lucciano. "Oh crap! Of all the times! You kids stay put! I'll go radio for help."

Only seconds after Saiga left, Leo balled his hands into fists and turned around. A calm yet determined expression was on his face as he walked off.

"Leo, where are you going?" a worried Luna asked, causing her brother to stop.

"To go duel Lucciano." Leo answered simply. "Yusei and the others aren't here to take care of him. Besides, I may not remember a lot of stuff from when we worked for that jerk. But I do remember that I can't stand him."

"Well then I'm going with you!" Luna decided. "And don't try to argue!"

Leo was about to do just that, but quickly sighed. "Fine. Let's go clobber this guy!"

A few minutes later, the twins went back down to the garage and got to their shared D-Wheel. Yusei and Bruno had repaired it over the week. The twins got on board and rode out of the garage. In moments they came before Lucciano, who was still waiting for Yusei to show up.

"So you traitors really did join this band of idiots." Lucciano observed with a quirked brow. "Where's Fudo?"

"Yusei's not here!" Leo informed him.

"Oh? Where is he then?" Lucciano inquired.

"None of your business! That's where!" Leo shot back. "Now if you want to duel someone, duel us!"

"Hmm… well the two of you would probably make a good warm up." Lucciano admitted. "Okay. But if I win, you'll tell me where Fudo is. That is, if you're both still alive."

"Bring it!" Leo dared.

* * *

Yusei and the others rode into the one of the few grassy areas that remained on Satellite. Much of the island had become a scarred land with the remains of what were once buildings and houses. Before long, the five came upon a small brown house with chapped and faded paint. Yet it still looked very well maintained. To Yusei, the house looked almost exactly the same as when he saw it last. He could also see the familiar sight of groups of kids frolicking in the front yard. The faces were all different of course, but it was something that Yusei had seen many times before. It almost felt as if he had gone back in time.

Crow and Raven pulled up in front of the house, with Yusei and the others pulling up behind them. In seconds, children swarmed around Raven and Crow. Many of them were asking the couple to play with them, or if they had brought them anything. The front door of the house opened, and out walked a familiar older woman that Yusei recognized immediately.

"Crow! Raven! How nice of your to drop by." Martha greeted.

"Hi Martha." Crow greeted. "We brought some surprise guests with us."

Yusei and Kiryu walked up next to Crow and Raven. A nervous expression was on Kiryu's face.

"Hi Martha." Yusei greeted.

Almost overcome with tears, Martha pulled both Yusei and Kiryu into a tight hug. "I almost didn't think I'd ever see either of you again."

"Hello Martha." Aki greeted. "Remember me?"

"Are you little Aki?" Martha realized upon releasing Yusei and Kiryu. "You've grown so much since I last saw you that I hardly recognized you."

"It really has been a long time." Aki agreed.

"Well, I'm sure you all have a lot to tell me." Martha assumed. "Come into the house, and you can all tell me over some tea."

* * *

Leo and Luna followed Lucciano out to a large area with crumbling buildings far away from the Bird's Nest. They stopped several feet away from the ruins of an old house.

"The first one around the back of that house gets the first turn." Lucciano proposed. "Also, each of us will have our own set of life points."

"Fine with us." Leo agreed.

As both parties revved their engines, a white glowing infinity symbol appeared around the twins and Lucciano. The symbol faded and the three took off towards the house. At the last second, Lucciano laughed and pulled ahead at surprising speed. The young triad member was the first one around the back of the house. The twins soon followed and the duel began.

"Since I have the first turn, I get to decide the order of the duel." Lucciano announced. "I'll be going first, of course. Then it will be dear Luna, followed by Leo. That said, I activate the Track Field, World of Tomorrow!"

In an instant, the landscape completely transformed. In place of the ruined wasteland of Satellite was a towering city with cylindrical futuristic skyscrapers. The duelists themselves were riding on a road with rounded glass walls on both sides.

"What kind of Field Spell is this?" Leo wondered. "It looks like Neo Domino on steroids."

"This is a city of the future, where humans live in perfect harmony with machines." Lucciano explained with a somewhat dark expression. "Anyway, I should probably explain the effects of this field. All Machine-type monsters gain 200 ATK points. Plus each of us can Special Summon a Machine monster when we Normal Summon one. Though that monster can't attack that turn."

"That's too bad for you, loser. Because I use Machine monsters too." Leo pointed out.

"Oh I'm well aware of that. But I hardly need to worry because you're so incompetent." Lucciano retorted.

"What'd you just say?" Leo angrily asked.

"Leo, calm down." Luna told him.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Lucciano announced.

Luna drew her first card. "I set two cards on the field! Then I summon Mystical Elf in Defense Mode!"

Appearing by the twins' D-Wheel was a woman with blue skin and long shimmering blonde hair. She wore green robes that began just past her shoulders, and on her head she had on a sort of white crown.

"I end my turn." Luna announced.

"That's all?" Lucciano chuckled. "You seem to be holding back, my pet."

"Don't call me that!" Luna told him, almost shouting.

"Oh my. You really have had a change in attitude." Lucciano observed. "You used to be so affectionate towards me."

"Shut your face, you jerk!" Leo shot back as he drew his card. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson with my first attack. And I start by summoning Morphtronic Videon in Attack Mode!"

A large handheld video camera materialized on the battlefield. In moments, parts of the camera unfolded, allowing it to take the shape of a humanoid robot.

"Now because of your Field Spell, I also Special Summon Morphtronic Clocken in Defense Mode!" Leo announced.

Appearing next to Videon was a large white digital alarm clock with a pair of brass-colored bells on the top. The digital display on the clock's face read zero minutes in green numbers.

"Since Clocken's in Defense Mode, I place one Clock Counter on it!" Leo announced. The face of the clock changed from zero minutes to one. "Next I equip Videon with Mist Body! Videon gains 800 ATK for each equip card it has, and thanks to the 200 points from your Field Spell, this makes Videon's ATK 2000!"

"Oh dear. I'm shacking." Lucciano replied sarcastically.

"Videon, attack Lucciano directly!" Leo commanded. "Lens Flare!"

"I activate my Trap, Machine Uprising!" Lucciano announced. The large card depicted a red-eyed robot attacking a human. "Because you declared a direct attack with a Machine-type monster, I can negate that attack an inflict half that monster's ATK back at you as damage."

Just as Videon was about to fire off an attack, its eyes turned red and it turned around to face the twins. Videon hit Leo with a beam of light from the top of its head, dropping his life points to 3000.

"Such a simple minded attack." Lucciano remarked. "Just the sort of move I'd expect from you."

"I end my turn." Leo announced through gritted teeth.

Lucciano drew his next card. "I Servant Droid-Peacekeeper X4 in Attack Mode!"

Appearing alongside Lucciano was a human-shaped robot that was primarily blue in color. Its oval-shaped head was grey and had a pair of round red eyes. Atop its head was a blue police cap with a black brim, and its body was styled like a police uniform complete with a gold badge. In its left hand, the robot carried a police baton.

"With World of Tomorrow's effect, I also summon Servant Droid-Butler 300 in Defense Mode!" Lucciano announced.

Materializing next to the Peacekeeper droid was another human-shaped robot. This one had a grey ovular head with round red eyes and a small black mustache painted on. Its body was designed like a tuxedo, and with its left hand it carried a silver tray.

"I now activate Butler 300's effect and add a Machine-type monster from my deck to my hand." Lucciano announced. "Now I attack Videon with Peacekeeper X4!"

"But that police robot of yours only had 1800 ATK!" Leo pointed out.

"True, but when Peacekeeper X4 attacks a monster, that monster loses 400 ATK during the battle." Lucciano explained. "Go Peacekeeper X4! Serve and Protect!"

The Peacekeeper droid charged forward and struck Videon with its club. Videon turned into white mist upon being struck and quickly reformed. But Leo's life points went down to 2800.

"Videon can't be destroyed in battle since it's equipped with Mist Body." Leo reminded Lucciano.

"True. But you still took damage from the attack." Lucciano pointed out. "I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

Luna drew her next card. "I summon Berry, the Forest Swordsman in Attack Mode!"

The porcupine swordsman materialized on the field next to the Mystcial Elf.

"I tune the level three Berry into the level four Mystical Elf for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Luna announced.

Berry slashed his swords and transformed into three rings of green light. The rings encircled the elf woman and changed her into four white glowing balls.

"The holy light of protection, shine now and become eternal life!" Luna chanted. "Synchro Summon! A regale birth! Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

The lights flashed and Luna's dragon appeared on the field with a roar. Though the dragon had a much lighter aspect than when she appeared against Yusei and Aki. And the glowing red markings that were on her body had vanished.

"_Ancient_ Fairy Dragon?" Lucciano repeated with a quirked brow. "That dragon has changed from before! What did you do?"

"Don't blame us! It was that weird Spell card that Skeleton Knight guy gave us." Leo told him.

Lucciano's visible eye went wide in surprise. "The Skeleton Knight…? Those traitors! How dare they interfere in our divine mission? Placido was right! No human can be trusted!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" a confused Leo asked.

"Never mind that! Get on with the duel!" Lucciano told them.

"Fine. I activate Ancient Fairy Dragon's effect and Special Summon Regulus from my hand in Attack Mode." Luna announced.

Luna's armored white lion materialized on the field. His eyes were red instead of black like they were during the twins' duel with Yusei and Aki.

"I can't attack the turn I use Ancient Fairy Dragon's effect. So I end my turn." Luna announced.

Leo drew his next card. "I put one more Clock Counter on Morphtronic Clocken!" The clock face changed from one minute to two minutes. "Next I activate Clocken's other effect and sacrifice it to inflict 1000 points of damage for each Clock Counter!"

"I activate my Trap, Matrix Reroute!" Lucciano announced. "Since I have at least one Machine monster on the field, I can negate the damage I would take from an effect and redirect the damage. And since I have two opponents, I'll end the damage from Clocken's effect at Luna!"

Clocken exploded and sent a burst of flames at Lucciano. But the young triad member's Trap caused the blast to turn around and strike Luna. Luna cried out as her life points dropped to 2000.

"You okay?" a worried Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luna assured him as she recovered.

"How perfect!" Lucciano laughed. "In trying to land a deadly blow to me, you end up hurting your sister. But then I'd expect no less from an incompetent duelist like you."

"Be quiet!" Luna shouted. "You don't know anything! Sure he screws up sometimes, but he's a good duelist."

"Luna…" Leo responded.

"I remember… I remember saying such horrible things to Leo while the thing living in that card controlled us." Luna went on, almost on the verge of tears. "I'd always put him down. But I didn't mean any of it."

"Luna, it's okay." Leo assured her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "That wasn't you talking back then. It was that card. Heck, I probably said a lot of stupid stuff because of that card too. So don't worry about it, okay?"

"…Yeah, okay." Luna replied with a half smile.

"Okay then. Time to teach this jerk a lesson!" Leo declared. "I summon the Tuner, Morphtronic Remoten in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on the battlefield was a large white remote like device with a black screen near the top. Small arms and legs popped out of the unit and a pair of round green eyes appeared on its screen.

"Next I summon Morphtronic Boomboxen in Attack Mode with World of Tomorrow's effect!" Leo announced.

A large red boom box appeared on the field next to the other two Morphtronic monsters. Parts of the box unfolded, changing it into an almost human-shaped robot.

"I tune the level three Remoten into the level four Boomboxen for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Leo announced.

The screen that served as Remoten's face changed to show the word Tuning right before the robot changed into three green rings of light. The lights encircled Boomboxen and transformed the other machine into four balls of white light.

"Docking strength with courage to protect world peace!" Leo Chanted. "Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon!"

The lights flashed and changed into Leo's yellow mechanical dragon. Power Tool Dragon's eyes flashed red as it came on line.

"I activate Power Tool Dragon's effect and add a random Equip Spell to my hand!" Leo announced. A card popped out of the center of Leo's deck. Leo looked at the card and smiled. "Not quite the card I was hoping for, but it'll do. I equip Power Tool Dragon with Junk Barrage!"

Power Tool Dragon began to glow with a green aura after Leo played the card.

"Power Tool Dragon, attack Peacekeeper X4!" Leo commanded. "Crafty Break!"

The mechanical dragon charged forward and raised its shovel claw to bring down on the Peacekeeper droid.

Lucciano smirked. "Not a bad move. But when Peacekeeper X4 is attacked, it instantly self destructs!"

Just before Power Tool Dragon brought down its claw, the police robot suddenly exploded in a flash of flames and smoke. When the tower of smoke cleared however, it revealed a completely new robot. It was mainly blue in color and had a bird-like body with a long tail, a pair of narrow wings, and head with four eyes. On its chest was an infinity symbol-shaped window showing a ball of blue-green light inside. Mounted on the bottom of the machine's torso was a large silver cannon.

"What the heck… just happened?" a shocked Leo asked.

"Since one of my monsters was destroyed by a card effect, I was able to Special Summon Meklord Emperor Skiel!" Lucciano explained with a look of glee. "Prepare to experience a whole new level of despair!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The duel that began in this chapter was another fairly hard duel to write. In fact while doing this chapter, I noticed a small error I made in the outline of the duel, so I had to spend a couple of minutes correcting it. Once again, I had to make up a new deck for Lucciano like I did with Placido, since I'm using the singular versions of the Meklord Emperors in this story. Since Placido's Apocalypse Droids were based on robots trying to exterminate humanity to reflect the part of the Meklord invasion he was from, I decided to do the same kind of thing with Lucciano's deck and made up a bunch of robots that serve humanity only to betray them later on.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	21. Sword and Shield

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 20: Sword and Shield

There was a lot of catching up being done at Martha's orphanage. Though there were a few details that were omitted, Yusei had told Martha about what had been going on with the Infinity Triad. He told her of how they had made it their mission to destroy him and their intentions to wipe both Neo Domino and Satellite off the map. And of course, Yusei's relationship with Aki had been quickly revealed. Yusei finished his recounting as the group finished the rest of their tea.

"Well, it certainly seems like you've got your hands full." Martha observed to Yusei. "But I'm sure you'll be able to handle it. Especially with everyone helping you like they have been."

"Don't worry Martha. We've all got Yusei's back." Crow assured her.

Before the conversation could go any further, the group heard the sound of a motorcycle pull up by the house. In moments, Sect burst into the kitchen with a panicked expression on his face.

"Sect, what the heck man?" Crow asked.

"Sorry boss. I know you don't like to be bugged while you're at Martha's, but we've got a major emergency." Sect informed him. "One of those triad guys showed up at the Nest to challenge Yusei."

"Which one?" Aki asked.

"The one that looks like he's a kid." Sect answered.

"Lucciano." Yusei identified.

"Leo and Luna are dueling him right now." Sect continued. "Saiga told everyone about it over the radio a few minutes ago."

"What are the twins doing dueling Lucciano?" a shocked Raven asked.

"Well, everyone was out on patrol, and that triad kid threatened to destroy the Nest if Yusei didn't come out to face him." Sect explained. "The twins were the only ones around who could duel. So I guess they were just doing what they could to try and protect the Nest."

"I think it might be more than that." Aki theorized.

"So was this just bad timing, or was Lucciano waiting for the moment when the Nest would be vulnerable." Kiryu wondered.

"If he was, he wouldn't have been demanding to challenge me." Yusei pointed out. "But whatever the case, we have to get to that duel quick."

* * *

"You're both in real trouble now." Lucciano declared. "Neither of you has a chance against Skiel."

"Think again, loser! Power Tool Dragon still has 100 more ATK points than that robotic bird of yours." Leo pointed out. "Power Tool, attack Skiel with Crafty Break!"

"You seem to have a habit of neglecting your opponent's facedown cards." Lucciano chuckled. "I activate a Quick-Play Spell, Servant Droid Revolution! Since I have a Servant Droid on the field, I can give one Machine monster I control the ATK of all Servant Droid monsters I have out. So now I give Skiel Butler 300's 500 ATK points!"

The eyes of Lucciano's mechanical butler glowed red, and a red energy flowed from the droid up to Skiel, increasing the mechanical bird's ATK to 2900. Power Tool Dragon swung its claw at Skiel, only for the Meklord bird to swiftly fly out of the way. Skiel retaliated by firing its cannon at the mechanical dragon.

"I activate Power Tool Dragon's effect and send Junk Barrage to the Graveyard to stop it from being destroyed!" Leo quickly announced.

The blue cannon blast hit Power Tool Dragon in the chest, causing its green aura to shatter apart. The dragon was unharmed, but Leo's life points had dropped slightly to 2400.

"So is that all?" Lucciano asked with a cocky smile.

"Yeah, I end my turn." Leo announced with an irritated expression.

Lucciano drew his next card. "I'll start by activating Butler 300's effect and add another Machine monster to my hand. Then I summon Servant Droid-Maid 450 in Defense Mode."

Appearing on the battlefield was a human-shaped robot with a round grey head with a pair of round red eyes and sculpted metal black hair. She had on what looked like a maid's outfit and her left arm ended in a black and grey vacuum cleaner.

"That's not all." Lucciano continued. "With World of Tomorrow's effect, I Special Summon Servant Droid-Chef 600 in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on the track was a large grey robot with an egg-shaped body and a bullet-shaped head with round red eyes. Atop its head was a white chef's hat, and on its body it had a large white apron with a black oven door on the front. The machine had no legs. And rather than arms it had four mechanical tentacles, each one ending in a different cooking tool.

"I activate one of Maid 450's effects and destroy one of Luna's set cards!" Lucciano announced.

The mechanical maid raised her vacuum and aimed it at one of the large face down cards Luna had on the track. The card shattered and the bits that remained were sucked into the vacuum.

"Next I activate the effect of Chef 600 and tribute Butler 300 to inflict 900 points of damage to Leo!" Lucciano announced.

The robot chef launched a tentacle that ended in a large kitchen knife and stabbed the mechanical butler. Butler 300 shattered into bits of light and the oven door on the front of the robot chef opened, launching a large fireball at Leo. Leo was struck and his life points dropped to 1500.

"Finally I activate Skiel's effect and equip it with Ancient Fairy Dragon!" Lucciano announced.

Skiel's chest opened up and shot cords of blue-green light at Luna's dragon. Ancient Fairy Dragon was snared and cried out before turning into energy and getting sucked in.

"No!" Luna cried out.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hold onto your dragon for long." Lucciano chuckled. "I activate another of Skiel's effects and send Ancient Fairy Dragon to the Graveyard to allow it to attack directly this turn! And with that, I have Skiel fire a direct attack at Luna!"

Skiel rotated its cannon slightly and fired a blue-green blast at the twin's D-Wheel. The front of the beam briefly took the form of Ancient Fairy Dragon's head as it came close.

"I activate my Trap, Draining Shield!" Luna announced at the last second. "This card negates your attack and gives me life points equal to Skiel's ATK points!"

A silver shield appeared over Luna's duel disk. The blast hit the shield, causing it to shatter. And Luna's life points rose up to 4400.

"I guess I should've expected as much." Lucciano remarked. "Despite these changes in your personalities, you're both still the same in your dueling styles. Leo as the blundering sword, and Luna as the cunning shield."

"Are you done?" an annoyed Leo asked.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." Lucciano announced.

Luna drew her next card. "I equip Regulus with Black Pendant, increasing his ATK to 2200!"

A necklace with a large black gemstone appeared around Regulus' neck. The white lion roared as he glowed with a faint purple aura.

"Regulus, attack Chef 600!" Luna commanded. "Noble Slash!"

Regulus charged at the robotic chef and slashed it across the chest with the claws on his right claw. The cooking robot crackled with electricity before exploding in a burst of fire and smoke.

"Since you destroyed Chef 600 in battle, I get to draw a card." Lucciano announced.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn." Luna announced.

* * *

Yusei and the others followed Sect to where the duel was reported to take place. As soon as they entered the area they found themselves riding through the futuristic city that was created by Lucciano's Field Spell.

"This is the place, guys." Sect told them.

"This city. I've seen it before." Yusei revealed. "It was in the beginning of that vision Placido showed me during our duel."

"Whoa, time out! You mean that story of his where he said he was from the future?" Crow asked. "You actually buy that?"

"Well, we shouldn't just dismiss it." Raven pointed out. "I mean look at a lot of the stuff you guys have seen so far. Both Aki and I have powers. And there's the Crimson Dragon. Not to mention the Skeleton Knight and that entity that was controlling the twins. So who knows? Maybe the Infinity Triad really is from the future."

"Well if that's true, than things might be worse than we thought. The world gets destroyed in that future, remember?" Yusei reminded them.

"Look, let's just worry about finding Leo and Luna right now." Aki suggested. "Then we can worry about whether or not this future of the triad's is real or not."

* * *

Leo drew his next card. "I activate Power Tool Dragon's effect and add a random Equip Spell to my hand!"

A card popped out near the bottom of Leo's deck. Leo looked at the card and grinned.

"I equipped Power Tool Dragon with Double Tool C&D!" Leo announced.

Power Tool Dragon's shovel claw was replaced with a large circular saw attachment with a red casing. Meanwhile, the jackhammer on the dragon's left arm was replaced with a large drill.

"During my turn thanks to Double Tool C&D, Power Tool Dragon gains 1000 ATK." Leo announced. "Power Tool Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Skiel! Crafty Break!"

"I activate my Trap, Emergency Upgrade!" Lucciano announced. "With this card, since you attacked Skiel, I can negate your toy dragon's attack! But as a result, Skiel is destroyed!"

The special attachments on Power Tool Dragon's arms started up as it charged towards Skiel. But at the last second, Skiel exploded in a flash of smoke and flames. The smoke cleared though, Skiel was still in the air in a different form. Its wings had become like that of a plane. Each wing had a pair of machine guns mounted on it. The cannon mounted on its underside had changed to have twin barrels on it. Skiel's head had changed dramatically as well. While the head still had four eyes, it resembled the head of a condor with a snapping grey beak.

"What the heck is that?" a shocked Leo asked.

"Since Skiel was destroyed by a card effect, I was able to Special Summon Meklord Emperor Skiel MK-II." Lucciano explained. "I assume you're done for now."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Leo announced.

Just as Lucciano drew his next card, Yusei and the others came around the corner of the track from behind. Right away they saw the mechanical terror that the twins were up against.

"Leo! Luna! Are you two okay?" Yusei called.

"What're you guys doing here?" Leo called back.

"Ah, Fudo! You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down." Lucciano greeted. "I'll deal with you later. For now, you and the others can watch as I kill your little friends."

"Leave them out of this, Lucciano!" Yusei demanded.

"Yusei, it's okay! Luna and I wanna deal with this jerk ourselves." Leo told him.

"Now, where was I?" Lucciano continued. "Ah yes. I'll start by summoning Servant Droid-Recycler X2 in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on the track was a blue trashcan-shaped robot with large red eyes that resembled a pair of headlights. It had four black wheels instead of legs, and a pair of long silver double-jointed arms with three-fingered hands.

"With World of Tomorrow's effect, I also summon another Butler 300 from my hand!" Lucciano announced. A second mechanical butler appeared on the field. "Next I activate Recycler X2's effect and return three Servant Droids from my Graveyard to my deck to draw three more cards. And now I activate one of Skiel MK-II's effects! For each Machine monster I control, I can inflict 400 points of damage. And the opponent I target with this effect is Luna!"

The machine guns on Skiel's wings started up and began to fire bullets at the twins. Leo sped up and swerved their D-Wheel to try and avoid being hit. But while they both managed to avoid any fatal blows, Luna's life points still dropped down to 2800.

"I activate another of Skiel's effects and equip it with Power Tool Dragon!" Lucciano announced.

Skiel's chest opened up and the bird snared Power Tool Dragon with its energy cords. The mechanical dragon struggled before being converted into energy and sucked in.

"Finally, I remove Power Tool Dragon from Skiel to allow it to attack Leo directly!" Lucciano announced. "Despair Strike Cannon!"

Skiel's double-barreled cannon took aim down at the twins and fired a blue-green blast. The front of the beam took the form of Power Tool Dragon's head just as it closed in.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Luna quickly announced. At the last second, the blast was sucked into a vortex.

"I was actually hoping you would do something like that." Lucciano admitted. "I activate a Trap, Tragedy of Lost Family!"

The large Trap card Lucciano activated showed the illustration of a boy crying out on his knees in rage and sorrow before a large smoking crater with a pair of charred skeletons inside it. Leo couldn't help but notice how much the boy depicted in the picture resembled Lucciano.

"When the attack of one of my Machine monsters is negated, I can destroy two of my opponent's monsters and inflict damage equal to half their ATK." Lucciano explained. "And the monsters I choose to destroy are Videon and Regulus!"

Skiel fired two more shots from its cannon. The attacks hit the twins' two remaining monsters, causing an explosion of light that washed out the whole area.

* * *

_The light cleared, and the twins and Yusei's group found that they were riding through the sky over the futuristic city that resembled Lucciano's Track Field. But Lucciano was nowhere to be seen. The group was shocked to find the city being attacked by multiple copies of Wisel and Skiel, as well as many bulky golden-yellow Meklord robots._

_"What's going on?" Luna wondered._

_"I've seen this before." Yusei revealed. "This is what I saw in the beginning of that vision Placido showed me."_

_"I thought you would remember this scene, Fudo." Lucciano's voice spoke. "Of course he skipped over a few parts just so he could talk about himself. I'm going to show you the rest of the story."_

_The surroundings shifted a bit, and the group found that they were lower in the city as it was being attacked. Below, they could see swarms of people fleeing to avoid being killed by the Meklords. Three people stood out from all the rest, a man and a woman pulling a young boy along with them. The boy was Lucciano, though his skin wasn't pale and he was missing his eyepiece. And he was dressed in fairly normal clothing._

_As the family fled, Lucciano tripped and fell out of the grasp of his parents. Just as his mother and father turned to get him, one of the golden-yellow Meklords came down from the sky and blasted them with the cannon on its arm. Lucciano got back up to see the smoldering crater where his parents once stood and screamed. After that, there was another blinding wave of light._

* * *

The light cleared and everyone was back in the duel. Both the twins' monsters were gone. Luna's life points had fallen to 600, while Leo's had fallen to 500.

"So… that was supposed to be the future?" Crow asked.

"Yes. That was the beginning of the human race's downfall." Lucciano answered in a low voice. "And the moment you saw was the moment of my despair!"

"Lucciano." Raven interrupted in a kind voice. "I know what you experienced was horrible. But doing all this, causing all this pain and destruction, that's not the answer. Why don't you join us and start a new life?"

At this, Lucciano began to laugh madly. "Join you? You don't get it, do you? In a matter of years, this world is going to burn because of humanity's stupidity and arrogance. The only things I have left are my despair and my divine mission. So you can just rot in hell for all I care. You're all dead to me."

"He's nuts!" Sect declared.

"Where was I?" Lucciano continued. "I set one card on the field and end my turn."

Luna drew her next card. "There's nothing I can do. I end my turn."

"Rather sensible of you ask me." Lucciano remarked. "If you both surrender, I may consider sparing you. I may even spare Leo."

"Luna will never give up, and neither will I!" Leo declared. "And I'll die before I'll let you lay a hand on Luna again!"

"How noble of you." Lucciano sarcastically remarked. "Always willing to throw your life away to protect your sister."

"It's not just Luna I want to protect." Leo revealed. "It's Yusei, and Aki, and everyone at the Bird's Nest! I want to protect them all, so I'll never give up against someone like you!"

Suddenly a crimson light in the shape of a heart ignited on Leo's right forearm. The dragon marks on Yusei, Aki, Crow, Raven, and Luna ignited as well.

"What is this?" a surprised Lucciano demanded to know.

"Raven, does this mean that Leo's a Signer too?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah." Raven confirmed. "And I guess I should've seen it coming since he's Luna's brother."

The top card of Leo's deck began to glow red. Leo drew the card and the light faded to reveal a monster Leo hadn't seen before. It was red and looked like a cross between a spaceship and a dragon's head. Its black windshield looked like a pair of pointed sunglasses and towards the back were two large thrusters. Suddenly, something in Leo's head told him what to do to win the duel.

"I summon the Tuner monster, Morphtronic Lantron in attack Mode!" Leo announced.

A large back and blue flashlight materialized on the battlefield. The light unfolded into a humanoid shape, with the light forming the main part of the torso.

"Now I activate my Trap, Emergency Power Tool Repair!" Leo announced. "Since I summoned a Morphtronic monster, I can summon Power Tool Dragon back from the Graveyard with zero ATK!"

In a flash of white light, the mechanical dragon reappeared on the track. Though parts of its body were slightly cracked.

"I now tune the level one Morphtronic Lantron into the level seven Power Tool Dragon for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Leo announced.

The light on Lantron's body blinked a few times before it turned into a circle of green light. The green ring moved to encircle Power Tool Dragon.

"The courage and power to protect the future of the planet is a revolution!" Leo chanted. "Synchro Summon! Evolve, Life Stream Dragon!"

The ring of light shrank and went inside Power Tool Dragon. The dragon's armor cracked and fell away to reveal a flesh and blood dragon with golden scales. Its arms ended in hands with long fingers that had red nails. Mounted on its left forearm was a red growth that ended in a grey scalpel blade.

"Because I summoned Life Stream Dragon, I can bring my life points back to 4000!" Leo announced.

Life Stream Dragon roared and scattered rainbow colored specks of light down on the twins. Leo's life points shot all the way back up to 4000.

"I activate my Trap, Asterisks Matrix!" Lucciano announced. "Since my opponent has a Synchro monster in the presence of a Meklord, I can inflict 1000 points of damage. And while that won't do much damage to you, I can still inflict that damage to your precious sister!"

A crackling beam of light shot from Lucciano's Trap towards the twins. But Life Stream Dragon roared and blocked the beam with a barrier of rainbow colored light.

"What!" Lucciano exclaimed.

"Nice try, but Life Stream Dragon reduced effect damage to zero." Leo explained. "Anyway, I now equip Life Stream Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapon-Life Booster Cannon!"

The dragonhead ship flew down from the sky and opened up its front. The ship went on over the golden dragon's torso like a piece of armor, and its thrusters became a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons.

"Life Stream Dragon gains Life Booster Dragon's 1200 ATK." Leo revealed. "But it also boosts Life Stream Dragon's ATK by the same number of life points I have."

"But… that means that dragon now has 8000 ATK points!" a shocked Lucciano realized.

"You got it!" Leo confirmed. "Life Stream Dragon, blow Skiel MK-II away! Life Force Blast!"

Life Stream Dragon reared back its head and fired a blast of multicolored light from its mouth alongside the pair of crimson blasts from its cannons. Skiel was struck and exploded in a blast of flames. Lucciano was hit by the attack and cried out as his life points plummeted to zero. The young triad member was hurled back as the monsters and the futuristic city vanished. Lucciano bounced on the ground four times before landing several feet away from where he stared.

Yusei and the others drove up to where Lucciano had landed. They were shocked to find that his left arm and lower legs had broken off. Electricity crackled where the breaks on the main body were.

"Man, this keeps getting weirder and weirder." Crow declared.

"So all this time Lucciano was a robot?" Leo wondered.

"This is just like how it was with Placido." Yusei informed them.

"But, that vision showed that Lucciano had parents." Aki pointed out. "So how could he be an android?"

"There is much you do not understand." A familiar voice interrupted. Yusei and the others looked to see Jose walking towards them. "But what you must understand is that the future Lucciano and Placido showed you is very real. And for it not to come to pass, Neo Domino and Satellite must be sacrificed."

"And what gives you the right to decide that?" Raven demanded to know.

"Ours is a divine mission." Jose coldly replied. "All that we have done has been for a greater good. But I don't expect one as limited as you to understand."

"You don't have anymore right to decide who lives or dies than anyone else!" Raven told him. "And none of us is going to stand by while you try and destroy innocent lives!"

"That's right, you old jerk!" Crow confirmed.

"Fight if you wish, but it will only lead to your destruction." Jose told them all before suddenly vanishing with the fragments of Lucciano.

"Um, Yusei?" Leo cut in. "Sorry Luna and I rushed off to fight Lucciano like that."

"What you did was pretty dangerous. But you came through it okay, and in the end you beat him." Yusei pointed out as he tussled Leo's hair a bit. "Good job, both of you."

"Thanks." The twins both replied.

"Well, the good news it that we have one less member of the triad to deal with." Kiryu observed.

"Yeah. But I don't think Jose is going to be any easier to beat." Yusei pointed out. "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be our toughest opponent yet."

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think.


	22. Attack On the Bird's Nest

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 21: Attack On the Bird's Nest

Two days had gone by since the twins' battle with Lucciano, and Jose had not made a move since that day. The peaceful calm that the gang had enjoyed had gone. For everyone somehow knew that the attack from Jose would be the worst yet. Raven had certainly not been calm since that day. She had spent many hours working on her deck, but it wasn't out of fear from attack. Raven wanted to deal with Jose personally, so she wanted to make sure that her deck could stand up against his. Late that night, Raven sat on the couch looking over her deck. Each card in it had been laid out on the coffee table. Crow walked into the living room at about 1:30 AM.

"Don't you think you should call it a night?" Crow suggested. "This is like the tenth time you've worked on your deck. I think it's probably ready."

"I'll be done in just a minute." Raven replied.

"Well, you won't be any good against what's left of the triad if you're too tiered to fight." Crow pointed out as he sat next to her. "That old bastard really got you riled up, huh?"

"…I hate people like him." Raven told him. "I hate anyone who causes pain and suffering in the name of what they call a greater good. Nothing good can come from taking innocent lives."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Crow agreed. "Hey, you aren't thinking about taking on Jose yourself, are you?"

"And what if I was?" Raven asked with a very slight irritation in her voice.

"Well, I guess I couldn't stop you if you were." Crow sighed, knowing his arguing would be a losing battle. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Always." Raven replied with a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Jose sat on his throne in the top room of the Infinity Spire. Floating before him in the center of the triangular room was a large holographic sphere showing an image of the Bird's Nest. But in an instant the sphere began to glow with a brilliant white light. Jose knew very well what the light meant.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" Jose asked.

_"Placido's repairs are almost complete."_ A voice from the sphere informed him. _"And the damage to Lucciano was not that severe. They should both be up and around before long."_

"That is good to hear." Jose replied.

_"In the meantime, eliminate the Signers and all who fight at their side."_ The voice ordered. _"They are quickly becoming a problem to the plan. Use whatever means necessary to destroy them."_

"I am your servant in all things." Jose humbly obeyed.

* * *

The morning sun hung in the sky as Yusei and Aki rode back to the Nest. That morning they had gone to the hot spring to relieve some tension, among other things. Both of them needed to get away from all that was going on for a few minutes at least. But as they headed back the threat of imminent attack weighed heavy on their minds.

"…Do you think Jose will attack today?" Aki asked.

"He might." Yusei replied grimly. "But we should be ready. I mean we've beaten two members of the triad already, right?"

Before Aki could reply, a familiar thick cold fog suddenly rolled in. The fog cleared slightly to reveal the Skeleton Knight atop his undead steed standing in their path.

"The three of us need to have a little chat." The knight told them.

"We're not interested in anything you have to say!" Yusei replied.

"You should be. My advice might be your only hope for beating the triad." The Skeleton Knight warned. "As I said, we're on the same side when it comes to matters concerning the triad."

"But both Placido and Lucciano have been taken out." Yusei reminded him. "The only one left is Jose."

"Come now. Surely you don't think that those two would be so easy to dispose of." The knight chuckled. "They're far more resilient than you give them credit for. Only with my help do you stand a chance of beating them."

"We might as well hear him out. He probably won't leave until we do." Aki pointed out.

"Fine." Yusei agreed. "We're listening."

* * *

Crow stood out on the roof of the Nest looking out over the landscape. All seemed calm until he noticed a roaring cloud of dust approaching in the distance. Crow grabbed a pair of binoculars sitting on the ledge. Looking through them, he saw what looked like an army of duelists riding dark-blue D-Wheels. But when he looked closer he could see that they weren't human. They robots of some sort, each with grey metal faces.

"Crap! Looks like the wait's over." Crow realized as he grabbed the radio hanging at his waist. "Saiga! Call everyone in. Looks like the show's finally gotten started."

At that point Raven walked out onto the roof with the twins. "Is Jose finally attacking?"

"Yeah. He's sending a whole robot army after us." Crow confirmed.

"Where is he?" Raven asked.

Crow looked elsewhere over the landscape through the binoculars. After a moment he saw a large hulking figure in white and orange standing atop a hill in the distance. Crow couldn't make the figure out real well, but he could tell that it was Jose. There was no mistaking that long grey beard.

"He's out there." Crow assured Raven. "The old guy's just standing there watching."

"That doesn't surprise me." Raven remarked. "You guys handle the army. I'll take care of Jose."

"You sure I can't talk you out of it?" Crow asked.

"Nope." Raven replied.

"Okay. Just be careful." Crow sighed.

"You too." Raven told him before coming up and giving him a brief kiss. "I promise I'll come back."

With that, Raven quickly left the roof. Crow put down his binoculars and was about to follow.

"Hold on, Crow." Leo spoke, causing Crow to stop. "Luna and I wanna help too."

"C'mon you two. This is a pretty serious battle." Crow pointed out.

"True. But we are signers too." Luna reminded him. "Plus we did beat Lucciano. Besides, at a time like this you can use all the help you can get."

"Okay, fine." Crow relented. "But you two better hang close, okay?"

"You got it!" Leo enthusiastically agreed.

* * *

"Glad you decided to listen." The Skeleton Knight told Yusei and Aki. "I'm sure you won't regret it."

"So just what is this advice of yours?" Yusei asked.

"I suppose it's time I leveled with you somewhat. The reason why I've been helping you is because you were the only one capable of defeating the triad once and for all." The Skeleton Knight revealed. "I know potential when I see it, and you have it in spades. But the sad fact is that you haven't been developing as fast as I had hoped."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusei asked.

"Only that you have only scratched the surface of Accel Synhcro." The Skeleton Knight replied. "I don't know as much about this as your friend Bruno. But I am certain that there is a whole other level to it that you have yet to reach. And the way things are now, you simply don't have the time to reach it."

"Then where does that leave us?" Aki asked. "If Yusei doesn't have time to reach the next level of Accel Synhcro, how is he supposed to beat the triad?"

"Alone, he won't." the knight replied. "But with your help, my dear, he might just stand a chance."

"With my help?" a surprised Aki repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Never in my wildest dreams did I expect you to become able of performing Accel Synchro." The undead knight explained. "But now that you can, you and Yusei together can summon a power that can eliminate the triad once and for all."

"How is the two of us together supposed to beat the triad?" Yusei asked.

"You must both perform an Accel Synchro Summon together." The Skeleton Knight explained. "If both your dragons enter the Momentum slipstream at the exact same moment, their simultaneous evolution will cause their bodies to merge, causing matter to invert and become antimatter. This will create a new possibility that can defeat the triad."

"A combined Accel Synchro. Is that really possible?" Yusei wondered.

"You won't know unless you try." The Skeleton Knight pointed out. "Good luck to both of you."

With that, the cold fog thickened and quickly rolled away. The land returned to normal and the Skeleton Knight was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly Saiga's face appeared on the monitor of Yusei's D-Wheel consol. _"Yusei! Aki! Come in!"_

"What is it, Saiga?" Yusei replied.

_"Where the hell have you guys been? That old guy from the triad's finally made his move."_ Saiga informed them. _"We need your help right away!"_

"We're on our way." Yusei told him.

* * *

Jose looked out as his mechanical army headed towards the Bird's Nest. He never expected that he would use Placido's toys, the Diablo. But his great lord ordered the destruction of the Signers as quickly as possible, and Jose had no other option to obey. As Jose watched, he saw Crow leading the Black Bird gang out to face the Diablo. The old man was a bit surprised to see that the gang was almost as big as the army he had sent out. But it didn't matter. There was no way they could last long against the Diablo. After all, they were only human.

"You're so willing to kill others, but you're not willing to get your own hands dirty." A voice remarked. Jose turned around to see Raven sitting atop her D-Wheel. "That doesn't surprise me a bit."

"The priestess of the Crimson Dragon." Jose observed. "I suppose you've come to challenge me."

"Why else would I be here?" Raven pointed out.

"It is foolish of you to oppose me." Jose told her. "But since you seem so eager to do so, who am I to decline."

Suddenly a D-Wheel without a rider began to approach from the side at a fast speed. It was mostly dark-brown and looked more like a horseless chariot than a motorcycle. Jose leapt high into the air and his legs folded back at the waist in a way that was impossible for a normal human. The elderly giant came down and attached himself to the top of the D-Wheel with a clanking sound.

"So what's the deal with triad guys?" Raven inquired. "Are you cyborgs, or what?"

"That does not matter." Jose replied. "Let us begin the duel."

"Fine." Raven agreed. "The first one to the bottom of this hill gets first turn."

Jose nodded before moving to a position next to Raven. An infinity symbol of white light appeared in the ground momentarily around both of them shortly before they took off. Raven was the first to make it to the bottom of the steep hill.

"Tack Field, activate!" Raven called. "Dragon Ravine!"

The landscape around transformed in a wide canyon in the desert. Raven and Jose sped down at the bottom of the canyon.

Raven drew her first card. "I'll start by discarding a card to activate one of the effects of Dragon Ravine and send Dragunity Phalanx from my deck to the Graveyard! Next I summon Dragunity Dux in Attack Mode!"

Materializing to fly alongside Raven was a man in brown and white dressed to look like a bird. He had on a sort of headdress that resembled the head of a falcon, and on his back was a pair of large dark-brown and white wings.

"When Dragunity Dux is summoned, I can equip him with a level three or lower Dragunity Dragon from my Graveyard!" Raven announced. "So I'll equip him with Dragunity Phalanx!"

Suddenly flying down from the sky was a squat blue dragon with large muscular arms and a large head. Its tail, torso, and forearms were covered in gold armor and it wore a gold mask on its face. Build into the mask was a pair of spear-like horns. Dux flew up and landed on the dragon's back.

"Now I activate Phalanx's effect!" Raven announced. "When it's equipped to a monster, I can summon Phalanx to the field!" Raven announced.

Dux jumped off the back of the dragon to his original position beside Raven.

"I activate Foolish Burial and send Dragunity Aklys from my deck to the Graveyard!" Raven announced. "Then I'll set a card on the field and end my turn!"

Jose drew his next card. "I set three cards on the field. Then I summon Ruin Droid-Wanderer in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on the field was a slender human-shaped build with a single large red eye for a face. Its body was completely covered in rust. Over its torso the robot wore a tattered brown rag that ended just above its waist.

"When Wanderer is summoned, I can add a Machine-type monster from my deck to my hand." Jose announced. "I now attack Dragunity Phalanx with Wanderer! Rust Strike Kick!"

"I activate my Trap, Urgent Tuning!" Raven quickly announced. "I can use this card to Synchro Summon during my opponent's Battle Phase. So I tune the level two Phalanx into the level four Dux for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Just as the wandering droid was about to deliver a flying kick to Phalanx, the dragon roared and changed into two rings of green light. The rings encircled Dux and changed the bird warrior into four balls of white light.

"Blustering winds gather here and now! Become the storm to pierce all barriers!" Raven chanted. "Synchro Summon! Descend, Dragunity Knight-Vajrayana!"

The lights flashed and cleared to reveal a large serpentine dragon with three horns covered in red armor. The center horn on the dragon's head was gold. Riding on the dragon's back was a bird-like warrior clad in red armor similar to the dragon's armor. In his right hand, the warrior carried a spear.

"Since I Synchro Summoned Vajrayana, I can equip him with Draguntiy Aklys from the Graveyard!" Raven announced. A red light shot down from the sky and entered the green gem on the red dragon's chest.

"1900 ATK. Not very powerful for a Synchro monster." Jose remarked. "But it is stronger than Wanderer's 1700 ATK. I activate the Spell card, Dian Keto the Cure Master, increasing my life points by 1000."

Small specks of white light showered down onto Jose for a moment. His life points went up from 4000 to 5000.

"I end my turn. And with the end of my turn comes Wanderer's destruction." Jose announced. Suddenly the rusted droid fell to pieces and disintegrated. "And because one of my monsters was destroyed by a card effect, I Special Summon Meklord Emperor Granel!"

Materializing onto the field was a large golden-yellow robot with a single red eye and an infinity-shaped window in its chest. Raven recognized the robot immediately. She had seen it once before.

"That's the robot that killed Lucciano's parents!" Raven recalled.

"And the woman that Placido loved." Jose coldly added. "It has also caused me a great deal of suffering as well, I assure you."

"How could you use that thing, knowing all the pain it caused?" Raven asked.

"Because the only thing my comrades and I have left besides our divine mission is our despair." Jose replied. "And so it shall be our despair that we shall use to change this world! Granel's ATK becomes equal to half my life points. Which means its ATK is currently 2500."

Raven drew her next card. "I discard one card to activate another of Dragon Ravine's effects and add another Dragunity Dux to my hand! Then I summon Dragunity Dux and equip him with Phalanx from the Graveyard!"

Raven's original bird-like warrior flew back onto the field followed by the squat blue dragon. Dux quickly mounted the back of Phalanx.

"Next I summon Phalanx to the field with its effect!" Raven announced. Dux hopped off of Phalanx's back. "I now tune the level two Phalanx into the level four Dux for another level six Synchro Summon!"

The blue dragon roared and turned into two rings of green light. Upon being encircled by the rings Dux transformed into four balls of white light.

"Blustering wings gather now as one! Become the storm to shake the earth!" Raven chanted. "Synchro Summon! Descend, Dragunity Knight-Gae Dearag!"

The light flashed and cleared to reveal another dragon. This dragon had a long body with four wings and was dark-blue in color. Its face, wrists, lower torso, and tail were covered in red armor. Riding on the back of the dragon was another bird-like warrior wearing armor that was colored like the dragons.

"Time to reveal the truth!" Jose declared. "I activate my Trap, Tragedy of Isolation!"

The large Trap card showed an illustration of an old man in rags wandering a desert wasteland. Scattered throughout the wasteland in the picture were the remains of buildings and cars and even a few human skulls. The old man in the picture had a long grey beard like Jose's.

"When my opponent has two or more monsters while I control a Machine-type monster, Tragedy of Isolation destroys all but the weakest monster my opponent controls." Jose explained. "Which means Gae Dearag is no more!"

Granel raised its left arm and fired a shot from its cannon at Gae Dearag. The dark-blue dragon and its rider were hit by the shot and exploded in a blinding white light that enveloped the entire area.

* * *

_The light cleared and Raven found that she was riding through space near the moon. Before her was the Earth in all its beauty. Yet Raven could tell from the continents that it looked desolate._

_"The Meklord invasion was only just the beginning of humanity's death." Jose's voice spoke. "Before long, despite the human race's best efforts to survive, the Momentum reactors around the world went critical. Causing a Zero Reverse that wiped away all those who were left."_

_On cue, several large explosions suddenly erupted all over the planet's surface at different points on the globe. Raven was then hit by another blinding light, though not from any of the explosions down on the planet. The light cleared, and Raven saw that she was in a wasteland, completely devoid of any signs of life. There was nothing but dust and rocks spreading out in all directions._

_"The earth had become a mass grave." Jose's voice continued. "Almost every living thing had been obliterated. Somehow I had survived the catastrophe. A foolish person would say that I was lucky. And perhaps for a time I probably thought so as well. But I quickly found out that I was the unluckiest person to ever live."_

_Raven looked and suddenly saw a figure approaching from the distance. It was a very frail-looking old man wearing tattered rags. He walked with the aid of a gnarled walking stick that was probably just made using the branch off an old tree he found. It took Raven a moment to realize who the old man was. She couldn't mistake that long grey beard or that one bushy eyebrow. The old man was Jose. Though he was far from being the seven-foot colossus that Raven had come to know._

_"Hello? Is anyone out there?" the frail Jose called out. "Hello? Anybody?"_

_Raven couldn't help but shed a tear for the old man. She wasn't entirely convinced that the dark future she was being shown was real. Yet she couldn't help but be saddened by seeing that old man calling out desperately for a voice that would never answer. Then she was hit by another wave of light._

* * *

Raven was back in the duel, inside the canyon that had been generated by her Field Spell. Jose was riding behind her with Granel following. The old man was as he was before, a bulky giant that had merged with a D-Wheel. The only thing that had changed was that Gae Dearag was gone.

"…So I guess you lived a pretty bad life." Raven observed. "But even if this future of yours is true, there has to be a way to change it other than destroying innocent lives!"

"There is no other way." Jose insisted. "The only way to prevent that future from coming to pass is to destroy Neo Domino and prevent the Momentum technology from spreading. It is my mission to keep such a thing from happening, and I will let nothing stop me!"

"Then I guess there's no point in arguing with you." Raven sighed. "I activate Vajrayana's effect and send Aklys to the Graveyard to double its ATK until the end of the turn! And when Aklys is sent to the Graveyard, I can use its effect to destroy Granel!"

A red beam of light shot out of the dragon's chest and headed straight for Granel. The end of the beam took the form of a dragon's head before striking the golden robot. Granel seemed to explode with a violent blast of flames. But when the smoke cleared, Raven was shocked to see that Granel was still on the field. Though its design had changed a bit. Its torso and lower half were still the same, but its arms had changed a great deal. Its left arm had gained a larger spherical cannon with sharp teeth around the barrel, while the right arm had gained a large shield that resembled the shell of a turtle. Granel's head had changed a great deal as well. Its eye had become a single horizontal slot with a single red light that went back and forth from left to right. Below the eye was a ridged faceplate that was grey in color, and on the sides of the head were large grey blades that looked like fins.

"Oh great! Let me guess…" Raven began.

"Because you destroyed Granel, I was able to summon Granel MK-II from my deck." Jose finished with a nod. "And while Granel MK-II's original ATK is only 1000, it gains ATK equal to half my life points. Which means its ATK points are now 3500."

"Not bad. But right now Vajrayana's ATK is 3800, which means he's still a few points stronger." Raven pointed out. "Vajrayana, attack Granel MK-II! Spear Flame!"

"I activate one of Granel MK-II's effects!" Jose announced. "Once per turn, I can negate the attack of a Sychro monster that attacks it!"

The dragon charged and fired a stream of red flames from its mouth. But Granel raised its shield arm and blocked the attack of a crackling field of green electricity.

"I choose this moment to activate my Traps, Solemn Wishes!" Jose announced. "One Solemn Wishes card gives me 500 more life points each time I draw a card. And the power of two doubles that amount."

"And since Granel gain's ATK equal to half your life points…" Raven realized.

"Granel will become stronger each time I draw a card." Jose confirmed. "You cannot win against Granel! For it is the ultimate Meklord Emperor! The ultimate weapon of despair!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The duel for this chapter and the next turned out to be a lot easier to outline than I first thought it would. Originally I was planing for both Raven and Crow to duel Jose together. But because I had just done a duel like that in the last couple of chapters and how I'm going to do the final duel, I decided to keep things simple and just have a normal one-on-one duel. Jose's deck came together quicker than I thought it would too. It helped that I knew Jose would use a heal strategy to support Granel.

I decided to change Raven's deck a bit too and have her use something that could pull off Synchro Summons a little more easily. I was all set to just make up a whole new set of cards for her until I remembered an already existing archetype known as the Dragunity monsters, a mix of Dragon and Winged-Beast monsters that are excellent at bringing out Synchro monsters. And what clinched it was that the Winged-Beast Dragunity monsters looked a lot like Crows Blackwings. So it seemed perfect.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	23. Higher Power

**Author's Note:** The title of this chapter comes from a song by the band, Boston. If this were an anime, it would be the song that would start playing when Raven summons a particular monster. I'd say what it is, but I don't want to spoil anything. Let's just say it involves a Spell card.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 22: "Higher Power"

War had broken out in front of the Bird's Nest as Crow and the Blackbird Gang faced the Diablo in a fierce battle royal. The air had become filled with monsters of all kinds. Though the monsters being used by the Diablo were all machines. Most of them were black metal balls with round indentations in them. Much of the robotic army had been defeated. Yet there were almost as many casualties on the side of the Blackbird Gang as well. There were no deaths, but a few D-Wheels had become in need of repair. At that moment, Leo and Luna had cornered two of the robots using their dragons.

"Life Stream Dragon, attack with Life Is Beauti-Howl!" Leo commanded.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack with Eternal Sunshine!" Luna ordered.

Both dragons reared back their heads and blasted the Machine monsters with blasts of light from their mouths. The two Diablo robots the twins were battling shut down after their life points dropped to zero. But as soon as they did, six more robots showed up and converged on the twins, each with a much more powerful Machine monster.

"Crud!" Leo exclaimed.

Just as the robots were about to launch an attack, streak of pinkish-red light zoomed up and from it emerged Yusei with Shooting Star Dragon. Yusei picked up five Tuner monsters from the top of his deck, causing the dragon to split into five multicolored copies.

"Attack with Stardust Mirage!" Yusei commanded.

The dragons rushed in at top speed and destroyed five of the Machine-type monsters, causing the life points of five of the robots to fall to zero. Just as the sixth robot was about to strike with its monster, another streak of light came up and from it burst Aki and Blazing Rose Dragon. Aki's dragon fried the remaining monster with a stream of flames, causing the robot to shut down.

"Are you two okay?" Aki asked the twins.

"We're fine." Luna assured them. "Thanks for the help."

After defeating a few more robots nearby, Crow rode up with Black-Winged Dragon at his side. Kiryu and Bruno rode up as well after taking care of another part of the machine army.

"Where the heck were you guys?" Crow asked Yusei and Aki.

"Sorry. The Skeleton Knight wanted to have a little chat." Yusei explained.

"Well he sure picked a damn good time!" Crow sarcastically remarked.

"Fortunately we've been able to take care of most of the army while you were gone." Kiryu informed them. "There may be a lot of them, but they aren't that great at dueling."

"Hey, where's Raven?" Aki asked as she looked around at the battle that was still raging.

"She went to take on Joe herself." Crow explained. "I tried talking her out of it, but once Raven sets her mind on something there's no stopping her."

"We should probably go help her." Yusei suggested.

As if on cue, Sect pulled up near them after taking down another robot. "Hey boss, the rest of us can take care of things from here. If you guys wanna go help Raven, go on."

"Got it. Thanks Sect." Crow replied.

With that, Yusei and the others called back their monsters and took off in the direction of Raven and Jose's duel.

* * *

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Raven announced.

Jose drew his next card. As soon as he did, his life points shot up to 6000, causing Granel's ATK to rise to 4000. "I summon Ruin Droid-Gatherer in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on the battlefield was a rusted out robot with a human-shaped upper half and a lower half with four insect-like legs. Its can-shaped head had a single large red eye and its long arms ended in clamp-like pinchers. On its back was a can-shaped container filled to the top with pieces of scrap.

"When Gatherer is summoned, I can draw one more card from my deck." Jose announced.

As soon as the old android drew another card, his life points rose again to 7000. At the same time, Granel's ATK climbed again to 4500.

"I activate one of Granel MK-II's effects and equip it with Dragunity Knight, Vajrayana!" Jose announced.

The robot's chest opened up and its energy cables snared Raven's Synchro monster. The dragon and its rider struggled in vein before being converted into energy and getting sucked in.

"Like Skiel and Wisel, Granel gains the ATK of the Synchro monsters it absorbs." Jose revealed. "But Granel does not need the added ATK. So I activate another one of Granel MK-II's effects and summon Vajrayana to my side of the field!"

Granel's chest opened back up and a ball of blue-green light shot out. The light quickly transformed into Vajrayana, but there was something different about the Synhcro monster. Both the dragon and its rider had golden beetle-shaped devices on their foreheads. Each device had a single red light on the front of it.

"Vajrayan, attack your former master directly!" Jose commanded. "Spear Flame!"

Mindlessly Vajrayana charged at Raven at full speed. The red dragon reared back its head and shot out a stream of flames.

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Raven quickly announced. Just before the flame stuck it was sucked into a vortex.

"So you wish to prolong your suffering." Jose remarked. "Very well. I activate another of Granel MK-II's effects and tribute Vajrayana to increase my life points by the number of its ATK points!"

Both dragon and rider cried out as the beetle-shaped they had attached shocked them with green electricity. Vajrayana exploded into particles of blue-green light that were sucked into the red light on the font of Jose's chariot-like D-Wheel. Jose's life points went up again to 8900, causing Granel's ATK to rise to 5450.

"I end my turn." Jose announced. "And with the end of my turn comes Gatherer's destruction from its own effect."

In seconds Gatherer collapsed into a pile of metallic dust that blew away with the breeze. At that moment, Yusei and the others arrived and began to follow from behind Jose and Granel.

"Hey! That looks like the robot that killed Lucciano's parents in that vision he showed us!" Leo recalled.

"And the one that killed the woman in the vision Placido showed me." Yusei added. "Only this robot looks like it's been upgraded."

"Forget what the hell it looks like! That thing has over five thousand ATK points!" an alarmed Crow informed them upon looking at his D-Wheel monitor.

"It's worse than that, I'm afraid." Bruno told them as he looked at his own monitor. "Granel MK-II's effect adds half of Jose's life points to its 1000 ATK. And with the other cards Jose has out on the field right now, Granel will only keep getting stronger as time goes on."

"I see we now have some spectators." Jose observed. "You can all witness first hand the destruction of your friend."

"Don't worry guys! I got this!" Raven assured them.

"You better." A worried Crow replied.

Raven drew her next card. "I activate Pot of Greed and draw two more cards!"

After drawing again, Raven looked at her hand. With the way the duel was going, there was only one way she could win. But she only had one of the cards she needed to pull it off. Fortunately, she had what she needed to buy a little time at least.

"I summon Dragunity Darkspear in Defense Mode!" Raven announced.

Flying down to fly alongside Raven was a fairly small black dragon with a pair of red wings near its waist. A pointed metal mask covered its snout, making its head look like the end of a spear.

"Next I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Raven announced.

Jose drew his next card, causing his life points to rise to 9900 and Granel's ATK to climb to 5950. "I activate a Continuous Spell, Ruin Droid Revival! Once per turn, I can use this card's effect to summon a Ruin Droid from my Graveyard. I choose to revive Ruin Droid-Gatherer!"

A mass of metal dust began to gather together by Jose. The dust quickly took the form of Jose's junk gathering robot.

"Because I summoned Gatherer, I am able to draw one card." Jose announced. As soon as he drew, his life points rose to 10900 and Granel's ATK climbed to 6450. "I now summon Ruin Droid-Healer in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on the battlefield was a human-shaped robot with a single red eye and a hunched back. With its right arm it held an old gnarled walking stick, and its left hand was a sort of repair tool that resembled an electric screwdriver. The robot wore a tattered brown hood and cloak. Hanging from a strap slung over its right shoulder was a brown leather bag.

"When Healer is summoned, I gain 500 life points for each Machine-type monster I control." Jose revealed. "And since I have three, I gain 1500 life points."

The mechanical healer raised its staff and glowed with a blue aura. The energy flowed from Healer into the light in the front of Jose's D-Wheel. The old man's life points climbed again to 12400, causing Granel's ATK to shoot up to 7200.

"Gatherer's 1200 ATK is just enough to destroy your dragon." Jose observed. "Gatherer, attack Dragunity Darkspear with Rust Javelin!"

The old robot reached back and pulled a long rusted pipe with a sharp end out of its pack. Gatherer threw the pipe and impaled Darkspear through the chest. The dragon cried out before shattering into bits of light.

"Now Raven has no monsters to protect her!" a worried Luna observed.

"It ends now!" Jose declared. "Granel attack directly with Infinite Despair Cannon!"

Granel raised its cannon arm and took aim at Raven. A blast of blue-green light fired out and struck the dark-haired duelist, creating a blinding explosion.

"Raven!" a horrified Crow called out.

After a moment the light finally cleared and the dust settled. But when it did, Raven's D-Wheel was still moving forward. She was catching her breath and her outstretched right arm held a single card. Her life points had only dropped down to 400, and by her D-Wheel was a large Trap depicting a man on a motorcycle riding away from a fiery explosion.

"What!" a shocked Jose exclaimed. "How is it that you survived?"

"I activated my Trap, Narrow Escape." Raven explained. "When I'm attacked directly with a monster that has 2500 or more ATK points, this card cuts the damage in half and lets me draw a card."

"It seems luck has favored you this turn." Jose remarked. "I set one card on the field and end my turn. And with the end of my turn comes the destruction of Healer and Gatherer."

On cue, but the ancient robots collapsed into piles of metallic dust that quickly blew away into nothing. Raven looked at her hand. She had two of the cards she needed, but she still needed one more. Raven closed her pale blue eyes and took a deep breath before drawing her next card. She looked at the card and a small smile came to her face.

"I do feel sorry for you, Jose." Raven admitted. "You and the other members of the triad all went through such terrible things in your lives. But that doesn't excuse what the three of you have been trying to do! Which is why I'm going to use my full power to stop you!"

"And just what is this power you speak of?" a skeptical Jose asked.

"Well to show you, I start by summoning Dragunity Legionnaire in Attack Mode!" Raven announced.

Flying down from the sky was a muscular warrior in white and gold. He had on a headdress that looked like a green bird of prey, and on his back was a pair of green-feathered wings.

"With Legionnaire's effect, I can equip him with Dragunity Phalanx from the Graveyard!" Raven announced. Her squat blue dragon flew down from the sky and was mounted by Legionnaire. "Since Phalanx was equipped to a monster, I can use its effect to summon it to the field!"

Phalanx roared, prompting Legionnaire to jump off its back and fly alongside Raven.

"Now by sending a Dragunity monster to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Dragunity Arma Mystletainn from my hand!" Raven announced.

Phalanx shattered into bits of light and was replaced by a yellow bipedal dragon with two pairs of wings. The lower pair of wings was feathered like a bird's. In his right hand, the dragon carried an ornate sword with a long black and grey blade.

"When Mystletainn is Special Summoned to the field, I can equip him with a Dragunity monster from the Graveyard. So I choose Dragunity Phalanx!" Raven announced. "And since I equipped Phalanx to a monster, I can summon it back to the field!"

A blue light came down from the ground and entered Mystletiann's sword. The light shot back out of the sword's blade and took the form of Phalanx.

"I now tune the level two Phalanx into the level three Legionnaire and the level six Mystletiann for a level eleven Synchro Summon!" Raven announced.

Phalanx roared before turning into two rings of light. The rings encircled the other two monsters and changed them into nine balls of white light.

"Stars of destiny gather now as one! Come together to bring forth the guardian of the heavens!" Raven chanted. "Synchro Summon! Blaze to life, Celestial Dragon!"

The light flashed and ignited into a ball of flames that shot up high into the sky. The fireball quickly expanded and become a second sun. A massive pair of red wings erupted from the star along with a red dragon's head and long neck.

"There it is! Raven's strongest monster!" Aki identified.

"Yeah, but it's nowhere near as strong as Granel." Kiryu gravely pointed out.

"An impressive monster." Jose admitted. "But its ATK does not even come close to Granel's. And even if it did, I could simply use Granel's effect to cancel its attack."

"For this move I needed Celestial Dragon on the field. But it's not the monster I'm going to use to end this duel." Raven revealed. "I activate a Spell card, Star Ritual Preparation!"

The illustration on the card Raven played depicted a large golden caldron of flames in front of a backdrop of shining stars. Painted on the front of the caldron was the seal of the Crimson Dragon.

"With this card, since I control a Dragon-type monster, I can add Star Dragon Ritual and the monster card it summons to my hand!" Raven announced. "Now I play the Ritual Spell, Star Dragon Ritual!"

The card Raven played depicted the inside of a temple, showing an alter between a pair of tall torches lit with red flames. High on the wall behind the alter was the glowing red seal of the Crimson Dragon.

"I see. So you had planned to sacrifice Celestial Dragon to summon a Ritual monster." Jose deduced.

"Wrong! Star Dragon Ritual also lets me banish a Dragon from my Graveyard to use as the tribute." Raven revealed. "So I now banish Dragunity Aklys to Ritual Summon Star Dragon Priestess!"

Materializing before the Ritual Spell was a serpentine dragon with a red face and a body covered in silver armor. A large pair of wings grew out of the sides of its head. A red flame shot out of the Crimson Dragon seal on the Spell card and incinerated the dragon. The flames cleared to reveal a young woman with long black hair and fair skin. She had on a backless white dress and a pair of gold bracelets. Atop her head was a large red headdress that resembled the head of the Crimson Dragon. Painted onto her cheeks was a pair of red vertical lines.

"When Star Dragon Priestess is summoned, I can seal the effects of an opponent's monster until the end of the turn!" Raven announced. "And the monster I choose to seal is Granel MK-II!"

The priestess raised her right hand and shot out a ball of red light at Granel. The ball hit the robot just above the window on its chest and took the form of the Crimson Dragon's seal. Granel crackled with blue electricity before the red light in its eye shut down. The blue-green energy inside its torso quickly faded to nothing, and Granel's ATK crashed back down to 1000.

"Now Granel's just a lifeless piece of junk." Raven declared.

"Yes, now it is vulnerable to your dragon's attack." Jose confirmed. "But destroying Granel alone won't win you this duel. My life points are far above yours. A single attack from your dragon would only leave a scratch. And I have many ways to revive Granel."

"I'm not done yet." Raven told him. "You see Star Dragon Priestess isn't just a Ritual monster. She's also a Tuner!"

"A Ritual Tuner monster?" a surprised Leo asked.

"I've never heard of anything like that." Luna replied. "Have you, Yusei?"

"I've never heard of one either." Yusei admitted. "Crow, have you seen this monster before?"

"This is all new to me too." Crow replied.

Suddenly the dragon seal on Raven's back ignited and her eyes began to glow red. Yusei, Aki, and Crow's marks all lit up as well, along with the marks of the twins.

"I tune the level one Star Dragon Priestess into the level eleven Celestial Dragon for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Raven announced in an echoing voice.

Star Dragon Priestess closed her eyes, outstretched her arms, and brought her hands together. She transformed into a ring of crimson flames and shot high up into the air. The ring expanded to encircle Celestial Dragon and began to rotate around it.

"Stars of destiny align now and burn as one! Ignite the path that will bring forth the heavenly dragon!" Raven chanted. "Primal Synchro! The avatar of light, Golden-Eyes Crimson Dragon!"

The ring rapidly shrank around Celestial Dragon, causing it to explode into a nova of flames. The sky above suddenly darkened and became covered by shining stars. The flames from the explosion came down and gathered together into a new dragon. This dragon had crimson scales and a body built like Shooting Star Dragon's. Though it was two times as big. It had a pair of massive red wings and a head with two horns and a pair of gold eyes. Glowing around a blue gemstone in the dragon's chest was a gold mark in the form of Leo's Signer mark.

"An avatar of the Crimson Dragon!" Jose realized.

"When Golden-Eyes Crimson Dragon is summoned to the field, I can summon as many dragon monsters from my Graveyard as possible." Raven announced, still in an echoing voice. "I now summon Dragunity Knight-Vajrayana, Dragunity Knight-Gae Dearag, Dragunity Arma Mystletainn, and a monster I discarded earlier to use Dragon Ravine, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Golden-Eyes let out an echoing roar that sounded exactly like that of the Crimson Dragon. Four golden stars shot down from the sky and took the forms of all four of the dragons Raven had named.

"Raven just summoned five powerful dragons in one turn." A stunned Crow observed.

"Golden-Eyes Crimson Dragon gains 400 ATK for each dragon I control." Raven revealed. "Which means his ATK goes up from 4500 to 6500! Now, Red-Eyes! Attack Granel MK-II with Black Fire Bullet!"

The black dragon roared and reared back its head. After whipping its long neck, Red-Eyes fired a massive ball of molten red flames at Granel.

"A truly impressive move, but all in vein! I activate my Trap, Mirror Force!" Jose announced. But when he pressed the button on his D-Wheel to activate his Trap card, nothing happened. "What!"

"Because of Golden-Eyes Crimson Dragon's power, Spell and Trap cards can't be activated until after a Dragon-type monster attacks." Raven explained.

The fireball continued on and struck Granel. The robot exploded in a blast of smoke and flames. When the smoke cleared, the mechanical terror was no more, and Jose's life points had dropped to 11000.

"Vajrayana! Gae Dearag! Mystletainn! Attack Jose directly!" Raven commanded.

Mystletainn flew in and slashed Jose with his sword as he passed. The old man's life points fell to 8900. The other two dragons then reared back their heads and blasted Jose with two streams of flames. Once the attacks had ended, Jose's life points had dropped to 4600.

"This ends now!" Raven declared. "Golden-Eyes Crimson Dragon, obliterate Jose! Celestial Burst Stream!"

Golden-Eyes roared and reared back his head. From his jaws he fired a stream of golden lightning down at Jose. The old android was struck, creating an explosion of blinding white light as his life points plunged down to zero. When the light finally faded, the sky had returned to normal and the land had changed back into the normal Satellite wasteland. Raven sat atop her motionless D-Wheel catching her breath. The seal on her back had stopped glowing and her eyes had returned to normal. Crow pulled up his D-Wheel and ran up to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." Raven replied. "That move just took a lot out of me."

"Don't scare me like that again, okay?" Crow requested.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I did cut it a little too close back there." Raven admitted before hugging Crow.

Meanwhile, Yusei dismounted his D-Wheel and approached Jose. "You've lost, Jose. It's over."

"I couldn't agree more, Yusei." A very familiar voice spoke.

Yusei and the others looked to see Placido and Lucciano approaching on foot. Both of them were without their white robes.

"You're both back?" a shocked Yusei asked. "But how?"

"Please, we can't be finished off that easily." Lucciano chuckled. "We both just needed to go into the shop for a bit."

"And now that we're both in proper working order, it's time for us to settle things once and for all." Placido grinned.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry if the battle royal scene at the beginning of this chapter wasn't that great. I'm still not that good in writing full-scale war scenes like that. Anyway, I'm sure many of you reading noticed Raven using a Ritual Tuner monster, something that to my knowledge has never been done in the actual card game. It's actually an idea I had for another 5D's story that I ended up deciding to trash. It was actually going to be part of a series of Ritual Monster centered stories beginning with a GX fic and going on into ZEXAL. But I could never get the GX story off the ground and as far as the 5D's story went, I wanted to do this one more.

Still, I wanted there to be another kind of Synchro Summoning method in this AU aside from Accel Synchro and Jack's Double Tuning. So I recycled the Ritual Tuner concept to use as method three. The method is called Primal Synchro, and it'll be explored a little more in-depth in the sequels to this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	24. Riddle of the Sphinx

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix

* * *

Chapter 23: Riddle of the Sphinx

"It seems that you're just as big a failure as the rest of us, old man." Placido remarked to Jose. "I guess this means that we're either not as strong as we think, or that we've underestimated the Signers."

"Either way, there's only one way for us to get rid of them now." Lucciano added. "And our lord has commanded us to get rid of them as soon as possible."

"Yes. I suppose it has come to that point." Jose admitted. "Yusei Fudo, I pose this riddle to you. What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?"

"What does that riddle have to do with anything?" Kiryu asked.

"Trust us, it's very apt at the moment." Placido assured him.

"Um, a bear that gets it front leg cut by a hunter on an evening stroll!" Leo guessed.

Luna sighed and shook her head. "Oh Leo."

"I'm gonna go with Leo's answer." Crow agreed.

"Oh brother." Raven sighed.

"The answer is a man." Yusei finally replied. "As infants, people crawl on all fours. Then as adults they walk on two legs. Then when they get old they sometimes need a cane to move around. It's the old riddle of the sphinx. Everyone knows about it."

"Everyone except Leo and my husband, apparently." Raven remarked.

"I don't see what that riddle has to do with anything." Yusei continued.

"Well I haven't crawled in ages, but the first part of the riddle applies to me." Lucciano explained.

"The second part obviously applies to me." Placido continued.

"And while I have no need of a cane, the third part of the riddle applies to me." Jose finished.

"What are you all talking about?" Aki asked.

"I guess we should just show them." Placido chuckled.

"Well of course. They're obviously too limited to understand." Lucciano remarked.

"Then let us begin!" Jose decided.

With that, the old man detached from his D-Wheel and flew high up into the air as his legs went back into their original position. Lucciano and Placido flew up after Jose, their bodies becoming bits of green data. The data was sucked into their eyepieces, which soon attached to Jose's face. The eyepieces merged with the mask over Jose's mask to form a complete mask. As Jose's body began to glow and change, Bruno was overcome by a wave of pain that almost made him fall off the back of his D-Wheel.

Meanwhile above, Jose had become less bulky and more muscular. His attire had changed to a white bodysuit with large shoulders. A blue infinity symbol stretched over his chest from shoulder to shoulder and extended down into a third loop. At his waist were armored plates similar to those worn by Placido, and on his back was a large metal ring like Lucciano's. Jose's beard receded and atop his head grew a mass of long grey heard with prominent dark-red locks towards the front. The mask disappeared to reveal a face that looked like Placido's, only perhaps a few years older. Below his eyes was a pair of vertical scars, and on his forehead was a green sort of gem that showed circuitry. The merged being opened his eyes to reveal that they were red.

"Who are you?" Yusei asked.

The being looked down at Yusei with a cold expression. "I am Aporia."

"So are you some sort of new person formed by the triad merging together?" Yusei inquired.

"The Infinity Triad as you called them, were merely my embodiments." Aporia revealed. "Lucciano embodied the despair I felt when I lost my parents, Placido my despair at losing the woman I loved, and Jose embodied the despair I felt when I thought I was the last one alive on the planet."

"So wait, you're saying that all this time the triad was really one guy?" Crow realized.

"Now you're catching on." Aporia confirmed.

At this time Bruno recovered from his pain spell. "He's speaking the truth."

"Ah, Antinomy. One of my embodiments should've recognized you sooner." Aporia spoke to Bruno. "You must've been the one to teach Yusei and Aki how to perform Accel Synchro."

"Bruno, what's he talking about?" Yusei asked.

"It seems that when Aporia's embodiments merged back into one, it reawakened some of my memories." Bruno explained. "And according to my memories, Aporia and I are from the same ruined future."

"Well then, now that I am whole and you have regained your memories, the two of us can destroy the Signers together." Aporia suggested.

"No! I did not have myself sent back for the same reason as you, Aporia." Bruno told him. "I came back to find another possibility of saving our future other than destroying Neo Domino. And I have found that hope in the form of Yusei Fudo and his friends."

"I had almost forgotten how naïve you were." Aporia recalled. "Out of the four of us, you were always the optimist. But it seems that you're still missing parts of your memory. Otherwise you would know that we tried everything else to save our future! There is no other way but to extinguish the source of Moment Energy once and for all!"

"Now just hold on a minute!" Raven interrupted. "I think it's time we had an explanation of what's going on. For one thing, how is it that the two of you came back from this ruined future you keep talking about?"

"I guess it is time you learned the whole story." Aporia admitted. "Witness now the final end of the human race!"

With that, Aporia produced the three Trap cards that his embodiments had used to show Yusei and the others the tragedies they suffered, the tragedies that were the great despairs of Aporia's life. The cards lit up and produced a blinding white flash that enveloped the whole area.

* * *

_The light cleared and Yusei and the others found that they were standing in the middle of a ruined city that had crumbled with age. Aporia was nowhere to be seen. Wandering down a nearby street was the frail old man that the group had come to recognize as Jose, but had recently come to know as Aporia. The elder Aporia fell to his knees in sorrow upon once again finding another dead city._

_"I was at the end of my rope." The younger Aporia's voice spoke. "After spending what seemed like an eternity wandering a dead world I had lost the will to go on. But then I laid my eyes upon a miracle."_

_On cue, Yusei and the others saw three figures approach the elder Aporia. All three seemed to be about the same age, though it was hard to tell with the lead figure due to his entire head being covered in a strange metal mask. The second of the three old men had long blonde hair. The third old man, who was robed in purple and blue, was bald and had a long thin mustache. He had on a pair of sunglasses that was exactly like Bruno's._

_The masked man, robed in white, limped towards the elder Aporia and offered his hand. Overcome with tears of joy, the elder Aporia took the masked man's outstretched hand. Another wave of light hit the area, and Yusei and the others found that they were inside some sort of futuristic laboratory. The elder Aporia, who had traded in his tattered rags for a set of white robes, was gathered around a table with his three companions conducting some sort of experiment._

_"My companions and I began to work tirelessly to eradicate all traces of Momentum energy and find a way to return the world to what it once was." The younger Aporia went on. "But everything we tried ended in failure. But time was our enemy, and we had already lost most of ours. Eventually our leader, Z-one, had become more machine than man in order to prolong his life. The rest of us died of old age. I was the last to go due to being the youngest."_

_Another wave of light struck and the scene changed again. Yusei and the others had found they had entered a large round room filled with some sort of capsules. In the center of the room was an open capsule that the elder Aporia was lying inside of. It didn't take long for the group to realize that the capsules were actual coffins. Floating before Aporia's casket was a large white machine shaped like an inverted coma. Embedded near the top of the machine was the head of the masked man the group had quickly deduced was Z-one._

_"So… it seems that my end has finally come." The elder Aporia said weakly._

_"All is not lost, my friend." Z-one assured him. "There is still one option left to us. I can send you back through time to prevent this entire tragedy from occurring."_

_"Then I have… one final wish." The elder Aporia told him. "That you send me back as three separate embodiments of the great despairs of my life, so that I may serve you more effectively."_

_"If that is your last wish, I shall grant it." Z-one agreed. "It is the least I can do for you."_

_With that, the elder Aporia closed his eyes for the final time. A set of three robotic arms right above the capsule created a spark that washed out the entire chamber in a flash of light._

* * *

The light quickly faded and Yusei and the others were back in the present. Aporia's younger mechanical self floated before them in the sky once more.

"Now you know the whole story." Aporia told them. "Or at least my part of it."

"Okay then. So how is it that you're planning to change this future?" Yusei demanded to know. "Just how are you going to destroy Neo Domino?"

"Tell me Yusei, do you really think that those Turbo Duels down in the Pit were simply held just so that people could place wagers on the duelists' suffering?" Aporia replied. "It was all to gather energy from those duels."

"Energy for what?" Yusei asked.

"Energy to open a portal large enough so that Z-one can come from our time and destroy Neo Domino and Satellite." Bruno revealed.

"How enlightening." A familiar voice remarked. Everyone looked to see the Skeleton Knight approaching on his steed. "I knew that you needed all that energy for something big. And to think that all this time you were one man."

"So, it seems what Leo told my youngest embodiment is true." Aporia observed. "You have betrayed me as well, eh Skeleton Knight?"

"Don't take it so hard." The undead knight replied. "If it's any consolation, we still both want the same thing. We just have radically different methods."

"So is that bonehead from your twisted future to?" Crow asked.

"Skeleton Knight is merely someone my embodiments recruited from this time to aid in my cause." Aporia explained. "But I will deal with him another time. Right now my goal is to eliminate Yusei."

"Well if you're fighting Yusei, than you're fighting me to!" Aki declared.

"It seems only fair." The Skeleton Knight remarked. "After all, you were three separate beings only a few minutes ago."

"Fine then." Aporia agreed. "If you both wish to fight me as one, than we shall duel using standard tag duel rules."

"Fine!" Yusei agreed.

With that, Placido's D-Wheel and Lucciano's mechanical skateboard suddenly drove up by autopilot. Jose's chariot-like D-Wheel suddenly transformed and became a very large white four-wheeled vehicle that seemed to lack any sort of cockpit. The two front wheels were underneath a pair of dragon-like heads that extended outward. Placido's D-Wheel then lifted into the air and transformed into a third head that attached to the top of the vehicle and became the driving platform. Lucciano's skateboard then changed into a tail-like extension that attached to the back. Aporia's legs merged into a fork-like extension and the armor plates at the sides of his waist lifted up. Long back cables extended up from the large D-Wheel and plugged into Aporia's lower half. Once Aporia was pulled down and plugged into the top head of the D-Wheel the top of the ring on his back separated and the ring began to generate a green field.

"We are not far from your Bird's Nest. First one to round the corner there shall have the first turn." Aporia proposed.

"As long as you don't harm any of the people there." Yusei replied.

"Very well." Aporia agreed.

With that, Yusei and Aki took off after Aporia towards the Bird's Nest. Crow and the other followed behind to watch the duel. Even the Skeleton Knight took chase on his undead horse. It was not long before the old building came into sight. The other members of the Blackbird Gang were cleaning up the mess left by the Diablo robots as they passed. Try as they might, Neither Yusei or Aki could get past Aporia's massive D-Wheel. The android duelist reached the Nest a few seconds before Yusei and Aki and turned left. Yusei and the others followed and the duel began.

"I will go first of course. Followed by Yusei, then Aki." Aporia decided. "Track Field, activate! Meklord Empire!"

In an instant the entire barren landscape changed from what it once was. The sky above had become grey and overcast, and stretching out in all directions were white metal building that were pyramid and spherical in shape. All of them were of various sizes and had lines of little blue-green lights running over them. A few of the pyramid-shaped buildings had an infinity symbol near the top. The road below had become an intricate grey bridge that extended at least fifty feet off the ground. Crow and the others watching the duel turned onto a bridge that ran alongside the one Yusei, Aki, and Aporia were on.

"I summon Meklord Army of Skiel in Defense Mode!" Aporia announced.

Flying up from below the bridge was a primarily blue bird-like robot with a pair of spike-like arms and a black face with red lines. The machine looked like a miniaturized version of Meklord Emperor Skiel.

"Next I activate one of the effects of Meklord Empire and add a Meklord Emperor to my hand." Apoira announced. "Finally I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

"So which Meklord Emperor did Aporia add to his hand?" a concerned Leo wondered.

"It's probably Granel." Raven assumed. "The way things are, Granel would start off with 4000 ATK points."

"Somehow I get the feeling that Granel isn't the worst card Aporia has." Kiryu assumed.

Meanwhile, Yusei drew his first card. "I start by Special Summoning Junk Forward in Defense Mode!" The red armored warrior materialized on the field. "Next I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!"

Yusei's caped armored warrior materialized next to Junk Forward, sword in hand.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Aki drew her first card. "I summoned Twilight Rose Knight in Attack Mode! And with his effect I Special Summon Lonefire Blossom!"

The young blue-haired knight appeared alongside Aki. He was soon followed by Aki's strange brown flaming plant.

"I tune my level three Twilight Rose Knight into Yusei's level three Junk Forward for a level six Synchro Summon!" Aki announced.

Twilight Rose Knight raised his sword into the air and became three rings of green light. The rings encircled Yusei's monster, causing him to change into three balls of white light.

"Blowing petals gather together! Dazzling flower set into bloom!" Aki chanted. "Synchro Summon! The elegant trickster, Splendid Rose!"

The lights flashed and a large twister formed around them. The twister died down to reveal a young effeminate-looking man with blond hair wearing a black and green outfit like the one of a jester or a clown. He had clusters of red rose petals on his ankles and four long green vines with thorns extended from his back.

"I activate my Trap, Asterisk Matrix!" Aporia announced. "Because my opponent controls a Synchro monster, this card inflicts 1000 points of damage!"

A massive blast of green electricity fired from Aporia's Trap card and struck Yusei and Aki. The couple cried out in pain as their life points dropped to 7000. After a moment, the attack finally stopped.

"I activate Lonefire Blossom's effect and tribute it to summon Queen Angel of Roses from my deck!" Aki announced.

The fiery plant ignited into a pillar of flames that shot high into the sky. After a moment the flames died down and Aki's masked angel decided from the sky, showing the ground with red rose petals.

"I equip Queen Angel with Rose Lance, raising her ATK to 3200!" Aki announced. Queen Angel's sword was replaced with a metal pink lance. "Now, I attack Meklord Army of Skiel with Splendid Rose! Cyclone Kick!"

Splendid Rose dashed forward and struck the mini Skiel with a swift and powerful roundhouse kick. The flying robot exploded in a blast of fire and smoke.

"When Army of Skiel is destroyed in battle, I can summon another Meklord Army monster from my deck!" Aporia announced. "So I summon another Meklord Army of Skiel in Defense Mode!"

As soon as the smoke from the first mini Skiel cleared, another one flew up from below the bridge track that the duelists were riding across. The flying robot took the place of its predecessor.

"I activate Splendid Rose's effect!" Aki announced. "By banishing Lonefire Blossom from my Graveyard, I can have Splendid Rose attack again with half his ATK! Cyclone Kick!"

Splendid Rose spun around again and delivered a swift and powerful roundhouse kick. Just as before, the second mini Skiel exploded like the first.

"With Army of Skiel's effect, I summon a third Meklord Army of Skiel from my deck!" Aporia announced. A third mini Skiel flew up from under the bridge.

"Queen Angel, attack Army of Skiel!" Aki commanded. "Rose Petal Spiral!"

"I activate my Trap, Mektimed Blast!" Aporia suddenly announced. "When a Meklord monster is attacked, I can destroy both it and the attacking monster!"

Just as Queen Angel charged in and was about to thrust her lance, the mini Skiel exploded with a blinding flash. The light faded and the smoke cleared. Queen Angel was nowhere to be seen. The mini Skiel was gone as well. But in its place was a familiar large gold robot with a single red eye.

"Oh no!" a worried Luna exclaimed as she looked on.

"Since one of my monsters was destroyed by a card effect, I was able to summon Meklord Emperor Granel!" Aporia announced. "And since I currently have 8000 life points, Granel's ATK becomes 4000."

"Damn! Looks like you were right, Raven." Crow observed.

"Now what're Yusei and Aki gonna do?" a worried Leo wondered.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they have some kind of trick up their sleeve." Bruno assured him.

"You really do believe in Yusei, don't you?" Kiryu observed.

"If I didn't, I would be helping Aporia right now." Bruno pointed out. "If anyone can beat the odds, it's those two."

"I end my turn." Aki announced.

Aporia drew his next card. "Now Yusei Fudo, Aki Izayoi! Prepare to be destroyed by the power of my despair!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The duel that began in this chapter turned out to be a real headache to write. I didn't think it would be going into it since I didn't have to make up a whole bunch of cards for Aporia to use. But it took me about two hours to figure out how to start the thing. Then I ended up having to rewrite the outline of the duel from turn one. I even had to almost totally rewrite the effects of Aporia's Field Spell. But I got it done in the end. So I hope everyone enjoys this duel.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	25. Prince of Despair

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 24: Prince of Despair

"I summon Meklord Army of Granel in Attack Mode!" Aporia announced.

Materializing on the track was a miniaturized version of Granel lacking the large torso with the infinity window. It had a back face with red lines on it and its arms were a pair of straight long cannons.

"When Army of Granel is Normal Summoned, I can halve the ATK points of an opponent's monster." Aporia explained. "And the monster I choose is Junk Blader!"

The mini Granel rotated its arms up and fired two blasts of blue energy at Junk Blader. The armored warrior suddenly fell to his knees as he glowed with a blue aura, as if the pull of gravity beneath his feet had intensified. Junk Blader's ATK dropped to 900 as a result.

"I now activate another effect of Meklord Empire and Special Summon another Meklord Army monster from my hand." Aporia announced. "Come forth, Meklord Army of Wisel!"

Appearing alongside Emperor Granel was a slender miniaturized version of Wisel. The red lines on its face gave the robot an expression of anger.

"And now, I activate Meklord Emperor Granel's effect and equip it with Splendid Rose!" Aporia announced.

Emperor Granel's chest opened up and snared Splendid Rose with its energy cables. Splendid Rose struggled before finally being turned into energy and getting sucked inside the golden robot. Emperor Granel's ATK went up to 6200.

"Crud! Yusei and Aki only have one monster left!" a worried Leo observed from the sidelines. "And all of Aporia's monsters have such high ATK!"

"Army of Granel! Destroy Junk Blader!" Aporia commanded. "Gravity Shot!"

"I activate my Trap, Defensive Draw!" Yusei quickly announced. "With this card, I negate the damage from your attack and draw one card!"

The mini Granel raised its arms again and fired two blasts of red energy at Junk Blader. The warrior was hit and shattered apart into bits of light.

"What a futile maneuver." Aporia remarked. "I attack directly with Army of Wisel! Ghoul Blade!"

A blue-green energy blade extended from the blaster at the end of the mini Wisel's left arm. The white robot charged forward and slashed Yusei across the back. Yusei cried out as his and Aki's life points dropped to 5000.

"Are you okay?" a worried Aki asked.

"His pain should be the least of your concern right now, my dear Aki." Aporia told her. "Meklord Emperor Granel, attack her directly!"

Emperor Granel aimed its cannon arm at Aki. But just as the golden robot was about to fire, the wind picked up and a massive twister of junk and debris formed on the bridge. The twister blew Emperor Granel far off into the distance before finally subsiding.

"What the heck just happened?" Crow wondered.

"What did you do?" Aporia demanded to know.

"I activated my other Trap, Junk Storm." Yusei smirked. "Since Aki and I were being attack directly by a monster with more than 2500 ATK, I was able to banish Junk Forward from my Graveyard to return that monster to the hand."

"An impressive move." Aporia admitted. "Had you simply destroyed Granel, you would've only made things worse by allowing me to summon Granel MK-II."

"Looks like the power of your despair isn't as strong as you thought." Yusei commented.

"You're wrong." Aporia coldly insisted. "My despair knows no bounds. And its what I'll use to destroy this city and finally put an end to Momentum Energy once and for all!"

"Why are you so convinced that destroying Neo Domino and preventing the spread of Momentum is the only way to prevent the world from being destroyed?" Yusei asked.

"Because my comrades and I tried everything else!" Aporia reminded him. "This is the only thing that will work! What your supposedly brilliant father failed to realize when he developed the Momentum reactor is that the energy reflected the hearts of the human race. Humanity's greed and lust for power is what caused the Zero Reverse that destroyed the world! Momentum technology is a tool that the human race was not meant to have!"

"But not every human is evil and corrupt!" Yusei argued.

"Don't be so naïve. The human race has always been corrupt!" Aporia insisted. "Look at all of the evil acts that humanity has committed throughout the centuries. It is in humanity's nature to destroy and seek power!"

"Well then by that logic, we're all doomed even if you do destroy Momentum!" Aki argued. "The human race would just find some other way to kill itself!"

"…Perhaps you're right." Aporia admitted. "Perhaps all that I have done up until now has been in vein. But even if it is, I shall carry out my mission regardless! For it is the only thing I have left other than my despair!"

"Then I guess there's no point in trying to talk you out of it." Yusei realized.

"There is not." Aporia assured him. "I end my turn.

Yusei drew his next card. "I summon the Tuner monster, Junk Changer in Attack Mode!" The barrel-bodied robot materialized on the field. "Because I control a Junk monster, I Special Summon Junk Servant from my hand!"

Appearing on the field was a cybernetic warrior in red, black, and gold armor. On the right side of its head was a circular red attachment with four yellow spikes on it. Its right eye was a large blue lens and atop the left side of its head was a sort of green siren light. The warrior's left shoulder was large and cylindrical in contrast to its right.

"I tune the level three Junk Changer into the level four Junker Servant for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Junk Changer slammed its two large metal fists together and changed into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Junk Servant and transformed it into four white light balls.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the advent of a divine force! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Descend to earth now, Lightning Warrior!"

The lights flashed and a massive bolt of blue lightning struck the bridge. The lightning soon faded to reveal Yusei's blonde armored warrior.

"Lightning Warrior, attack Army of Wisel!" Yusei commanded. "Lightning Punisher!"

Lightning Warrior's hand began to crackle with electricity as he charged at the white robot. With one strike, the mini Wisel exploded in a flash of fire and smoke. Aporia's life points went down to 7500.

"And now Lightning Warrior's effect kicks in and deals 300 points of damage for each card my opponent has in his hand!" Yusei announced.

"I activate another one of Meklord Empire's effects!" Aporia quickly announced. "By discarding another Meklord Army of Wisel, I can cut the damage from your effect in half!"

Lightning Warrior fired a bolt of blue lightning at Aporia. But at the last second, another mini Wisel appeared and took the brunt of the blast, exploding in another blast of smoke and flames. Aporia's life points dropped down to 6600.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yusei announced.

Aki drew her next card. "I summon Rose Paladin in Attack Mode!" The female warrior appeared in a swirl of pink rose petals. "Rose Paladin, attack Army of Granel! Rose Driver!"

Rose Paladin charged and skewered the mini Granel through the chest with her lance. The bits of the robot that remained exploded and Aporia's life points went down to 6400.

"And now, because Rose Paladin destroyed a monster in battle, I can tribute her to summon a Rose monster from my hand!" Aki announced. "Ascend, Fallen Angel of Roses!"

Rose Paladin exploded into a twister of pink rose petals and vanished. A second later, Aki's dark angel rose up from the pits of the machine empire the duelists were riding through, scattering black rose petals from her wings.

"Fallen Angel, attack Aporia directly!" Aki commanded. "Whip of Thorns!"

The dark angel flew at Aporia and lashed him in the chest with her whip. Though the android duelist didn't even flinch from the attack, his life points dropped from 6400 to 4000.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Crow cheered. "They've already got Aporia down to half his life points! At this rate, Yusei and Aki will have the duel won in no time!"

"I wouldn't celebrate so soon, if I were you." The Skeleton Knight told him. "It's very likely that Aporia has yet to unleash his full power."

"I hate to admit it, but Skeleton Knight may be right." Kiryu agreed. "This all seems a little too easy."

"I end my turn!" Aki announced back in the duel.

Aporia drew his next card. "I return the three Meklord Army of Skiel monsters in my Graveyard to draw one card. Then I discard Meklord Emperor Skiel, Meklord Emperor Wisel, and Meklord Emperor Granel from my hand to summon Meklord Astro Mekanikle!"

"What! He had all three Meklord Emperors in his hand all along?" a shocked Leo exclaimed.

Three balls of energy, one blue, one white, and one gold, came down from the sky and merged into a single sphere that created a blinding white light. When the light cleared, a completely new and very large Meklord robot had appeared on the battlefield. It was white and gold in color and had a humanoid build. Its legs ended in points like Wisel's and it had a pointed head. On its right forearm was a sort of shield and its left arm ended in a large cannon. The machine had a pair of diamond-shaped shoulders that both had windows that revealed blue-green energy cores inside. A window showing a third energy core was on the front of its waist. On the robot's chest were three connecting windows that showed a much larger red energy core inside the torso.

"I now activate the Spell card, Matrix Fusion!" Aporia announced. "I merge Mekanikle on the field with Meklord Astro Dragon Asterisk from my deck to create Meklord Avatar-Despair King 666!"

The card that Aporia played on the field suddenly turned into bits of blue-green light and entered both Mekanikle and Aporia's D-Wheel. A dragon-like creature made of blue-green light flew out of the android's deck and into Mekanikle, causing it to grow in size and change shape. Meanwhile the moon suddenly moved in front of the sun, causing a solar eclipse that darkened the sky. Down on the ground, Aporia's D-Wheel began to disintegrate into bits of green data and enter the Meklord he had earlier summoned. Once the D-Wheel had completely vanished, Aporia hovered high into the air, his lower half still in its linkage form.

The light from the Meklord robot began to fade as its transformation finished. The robot was still human-shaped, but was black and gold instead of white and had grown to twice Mekanikle's original size. The legs still ended in points but had actual knees. Extending out of its rear was a long golden metal tail. Its shoulders were styled like the dragonheads on Aporia's D-Wheel, but each had two long silver fangs protruding from its mouth. Its right arm extended into a clawed mechanical hand with a shield on the forearm, while the right arm ended in a large three-barreled cannon that had the barrels arranged in a triangle. On the back of the robot were two large golden horn-like extensions that each had a row of spikes on its outer side. Its head had a pair of golden curved horns and a face with large silver fangs and a single slot-like eye with a red light that went back and forth. On the forehead was a green gem very much like the one Aporia had.

The machine's chest had a set of three windows very much like Mekanikle's and showed a red energy core on the inside. Aporia floated over to a section of the robot's chest right above the three windows. A slot opened up on that spot and sent out several black cables that connected to Aporia's lower half. The android was lowered in and a small control panel appeared once the connection was complete. The white parts of Aporia's bodysuit turned black and his gloves turned light grey. Black pieces of armor materialized on his face and formed a green transparent visor over his eyes.

"Behold! This is the full power of my despair!" Aporia proclaimed.

"Did… did he just… _merge_ with his monster?" a shocked Raven asked.

"Most impressive." The Skeleton Knight remarked. "So this is the power Aporia has been concealing this whole time."

"The ATK of Despair King 666 is equal to my current number of life points. Whieh at this time is 4000." Aporia revealed. "I activate one of Despair King's effects and equip it with Lighting Warrior!"

Chains made out of red energy shot out of the Despair King's chest and snared Lightning Warrior by his arms and legs. The blonde warrior struggled in vein before quickly being pulled up into the machine's chest.

"So now your king has 6400 ATK." Yusei observed.

"Yes, but don't worry. Despair King 666 can't attack on the turn it was summoned." Aporia revealed. "But I can obviously still use its effects! I activate another effect of Despair King 666 and send Lightning Warrior to the Graveyard in order to inflict damage equal to its ATK!"

Red electricity began to gather into a sphere between the large horn-like blades on the Despair King's back. In seconds the deadly machine fired a massive blast of red electricity that struck both Yusei and Aki, causing them to cry out in pain. When the attack had ended, their life points had gone down to 2600.

"In addition to doing damage, Despair King 666 increases my life points by the ATK of the Synchro monster it sent to the Graveyard with its effect." Aporia continued. "Which means my life points are now 6400."

"That would mean that Despair King 666 retains the ATK of each Synchro monster it absorbs after using them for its burn effect." Bruno realized. "What a diabolical machine!"

"Aw man! How the hell are Yusei and Aki supposed to beat a thing like that?" Crow wondered.

"I… I activate my Trap, Shock Draw!" Yusei announced after recovering from the hit he and Aki had taken from the Despair King. "For every thousand points of damage Aki and I took this turn, I get to draw a card!"

"Very well. I end my turn." Aporia announced.

Yusei drew his next card. "I summon Fortress Warrior in Defense Mode!" The large concrete warrior materialized onto the battlefield. "That ends my turn!"

Aki drew her card. "I activate a Spell card, Rose Vengeance! Since I have Fallen Angel of Roses on the field while Queen Angel of Roses is in the Graveyard, I can discard a Plant monster to destroy one monster on the field! So I discard Dark Verger from my hand to destroy Despair King 666!"

Fallen Angel lashed her whip through the air and a massive bolt of red lightning came down from the sky and struck the Despair King, creating a huge explosion. It seemed like Aporia's monster had been destroyed. But when the smoke cleared, the wicked robot was still on the battlefield.

"What! How can that thing still be on the field?" a shocked Aki wondered.

"Once per turn I can prevent the destruction of Despair King 666 by sending a Machine monster from my deck to the Graveyard." Aporia explained. "So I sent Meklord Emperor Wisel MK-II to the Graveyard to negate your card's effect."

"I switch Fallen Angel to Defense Mode and end my turn." Aki announced.

"Man! That Meklord is just way too powerful!" Leo complained.

"Well at least it can't absorb any more Synchro monsters." Luna pointed out. "And both Yusei and Aki's monsters are in Defense Mode, so they should be safe for at least another turn."

"Don't think that either of your are safe for a moment." Aporia told Yusei and Aki as he drew his next card. "I activate the effect of Despair King 666 and equip it with Lightning Warrior from the Graveyard!"

"It can absorb Synchro monsters from the Graveyard too?" a shocked Crow exclaimed.

The Despair King launched the red energy chains from its chest down into the pits of the mechanical city. After a moment it pulled up a crystal coffin containing Lightning Warrior and reeled it into its chest.

"I now send Lightning Warrior to the Graveyard to inflict 2400 points of damage!" Aporia announced.

Red electricity gathered into a sphere between the extensions on the robot's back. In seconds the Despair King fired another massive blast down at Yusei and Aki, causing them both to cry out. Once the attack had finally ended, their life points had dropped down to a mere 200.

"This is real bad!" Crow declared. "Yusei and Aki can't afford to take another hit like that."

"And the worst part is that Despair King 666 now has 8800 ATK points." Raven gravely pointed out.

"Try as you might, neither of you can overcome the power of my despair!" Aporia declared. "Your resistance will only lead you to one place, death!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone might bring this up, the title of this chapter is referring to Aporia himself and not the Fusion monster he summoned. On that note, one of the things I've tried hard not to do in this story is simply rehash the duels that occurred in the actual anime. Which is why we didn't see Meklord Astro Mekanikle use its effects. Thus instead we have Despair King 666, probably one of the most overpowered cards I made up for this story. Its stats and effects had to be rewritten a couple times during the outlining of this duel. But instead of being watered down, it became more powerful. The thing where Aporia merged with Despair King 666 was somewhat last minute. But I thought it'd be a nice touch.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	26. Overlaid Hearts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 25: Overlaid Hearts! Birth of the Meklord Slayer!

"I shall end my turn." Aporia announced. "Try whatever move you like. It will do you no good. Whatever hopes you have for winning this duel will only be dashed."

Yusei drew his next card after recovering from the last blast he and Aki had gotten from the Despair King. "You know Aporia, I'm tired of hearing all this crap about the power of your despair. The truth is it's not despair that's driving you, it's hope!"

"What do you mean?" Aporia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When your parents were killed in the beginning of the Meklord invasion, you still kept going." Yusei explained. "You grew up and joined a resistance group against the Meklords. Then when the woman you loved was killed, you still kept on fighting. Even when it seemed like you were the last human left alive on the planet you kept on searching for others. And you're still fighting for the future even now, even though it's the wrong way to achieve saving the world. The bottom line Aporia… is that you have as great a capacity for hope as any of us!"

"Ridiculous." Aporia scoffed. "Even if what you're saying is true, each of those times you spoke of only led me to more despair. The reality is that despair cannot exist without hope. It is what's created when hope is lost."

"Even so, hope is still stronger than despair." Yusei argued. "It's what's been keeping you going this whole time. And Aki and I are going to prove to you that hope is stronger than despair! I tribute Fortress Warrior to Special Summon Turret Warrior from my hand!"

Fortress Warrior shattered into bits of gold light. In his place appeared a large stone warrior made of brick. It had a single slot for an eye and on its shoulders were small rotating cannons.

"I now discard Quillbolt Hedgehog to Special Summon the Tuner, Jackie Jumper from my hand!" Yusei announced. The ski jumping robot appeared on the field. "Next I summon another Tuner, Mono Synchron!"

Materializing on the track was a small green and yellow robot with a somewhat human shape. At the end of each of its arms was a red stamp in the shape of a Number One.

"Since I have a Tuner on the field, I can summon Quillbolt Hedgehog to the field!" Yusei announced. The brown rodent materialized next to Mono Synchron. "I tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level five Turret Warrior for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Jackie Jumper flashed orange and changed into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Turret Warrior and changed it into five balls of white light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights flashed into a blinding wave of white light. The lights cleared and Stardust Dragon roared onto the field.

"When Mono Synchron is used for a Synchro Summon, the other monster that's used is treated as level one!" Yusei announced. "So I tune the level one Mono Synchron into the level one Quillbolt Hedgehog for a level two Synchro Summon!"

Mono Synchron aimed one of its arms at the hedgehog and fired a red beam from its stamp. A large red Number One appeared on Quillbolt Hedgehog's cheek. Mono Synchron transformed into a green ring and encircled Quillbolt Hedgehog, causing it to turn into a single ball of light.

"Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

The lights flashed together and the racecar robot appeared on the field.

"You may have summoned Formula Synchron, but you can't use its effect to draw a card." Aporia informed Yusei. "Due to Meklord Empire, the effects of Synchro monsters that activate when summoned are instantly negated. Which means you just used up your entire hand."

"That doesn't matter." Yusei told him. "I end my turn."

Aki drew her next card. "I summon the Tuner monster, Glow-Up Bulb!" The large seed monster appeared and opened its single eye. "Because I have a Tuner on the field, I summon Dark Verger back from the Graveyard!" The small green plant sprouted back onto the field. "I now tune the level one Glow-Up Bulb into the level two Dark Verger for a level three Synchro Summon!"

The seed monster turned into a single ring of light and encircled Dark Verger. The plant sprout in turn became two balls of light.

"The flames of hope spark into blazing flowers! Their scattered petals create the path toward tomorrow!" Aki chanted. "Synhcro Summon! Ignite, Synchro Tuner, Cyber Rose Angel!"

The lights flashed into a small pillar of flames. The flames died down and Aki's cybernetic angel appeared on the battlefield.

"I activate a Spell card, Past Life!" Aki announced. "With this card, I can tribute a monster to summon a Synchro monster from my Extra Deck with the same level and ATK. So I tribute Fallen Angel of Roses to summon Black Rose Dragon!"

Fallen Angel of Rose began to glow with a red light and change shape. The light cleared and Black Rose Dragon appeared in the angel's place.

"I end my turn." Aki announced.

"Well, looks like they're both geared up for an Accel Synchro Summon." Crow observed.

"Yes, but I don't think it'll do any good. Neither of their Accel Synchro monsters can stand against the Despair King." Bruno pointed out. "And because of Aporia's Track Field Spell, Blazing Rose Dragon's effect to destroy Spell cards and inflict damage won't activate. I don't see how they can win."

"There is a way." The Skeleton Knight assured them. "But to do it, Yusei and Aki will have to perform an Accel Synchro Summon at the exact same moment."

"What will that do?" Raven asked.

"Just watch." The undead knight chuckled.

Aporia drew his next card. "How naive of you to think that Accel Synchro can still save you."

Yusei and Aki ignored him and both closed their eyes. They each took a deep breath at the same time as the other.

"Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei began to chant.

"Ice cold flames ignite into a new burning star! Crimson Flower bloom into a new evolution!" Aki began to chant at the exact same time.

"I activate the effect of Despair King 666 and equip it with Stardust Dragon!" Aporia announced.

"Accel Synchro!" Yusei and Aki called out at the exact same time.

Just as the Despair King launched its red energy chains down at Stardust Dragon, both Yusei and Aki took off with their monsters down the bridge, vanishing in a single streak of pinkish-red light. A moment later the same streak of light reappeared behind Aporia and his monster. Yusei and Aki burst out of the light with their evolved dragons, but as soon as they did the dragons collided and exploded in a blinding explosion of white light, causing Crow and the others watching the duel to stop their D-Wheels. The light faded after a moment to reveal a single dragon hovering in the sky above the mechanical city. It resembled Shooting Star Dragon a great deal, but was larger and its whole body was glowing, lighting the darkened sky above.

The dragon's neck had grown longer and had gained five crystalline horns that went back on its head. It had four massive wings covered in red rose petals that looked like crystals due to the light they gave off, and covering its tail were red crystalline thorns. The dragon's hands and feet ended in red claws. On its wrists were two long golden bracelets, and gold armor covered its upper torso. The seal of the Crimson Dragon blazed red on the front of the chest plate around a large blue gemstone. Orbiting around the dragon were two balls of light, one red and one blue.

The light being generated from the dragon caused the lights in the buildings of the Meklord Empire to go out. The red energy core inside the Despair King's torso faded to nothing and the light in its single eye suddenly shut off.

"What the hell kind of monster is that?" Crow wondered.

"Where are Yusei and Aki?" Luna asked as she looked around. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Up there!" Leo called as he pointed up at the new dragon.

Yusei and Aki were sitting on the back of the glowing dragon's neck, with Yusei sitting in front. In Yusei's hand was a golden rope that led to a bit in the dragon's mouth and served as the reigns. Both of Yusei and Aki's riding helmets had disappeared. Yusei had on a gold jacket with a flap on the front that reached over to the left and buttoned up, along with a pair of long gold pants, boots, and gloves. The red design that was on Yusei's normal shirt was on the jacket. Aki meanwhile was wearing a golden version of her normal riding suit with the same red design on the torso. The criminal mark on Yusei's face had turned red. Aki had gained a similar mark on her own face and her normal hair ornament had become sparkling gold. Both of their dragon marks were glowing and they each had an ornate golden duel disk.

"What… what is this?" a stunned Aporia demanded to know.

"Because Aki and I summoned Shooting Star Dragon and Blazing Rose Dragon at the exact same time, we were able to overlay them and Xyz Summon Hope Star Dragon-Morning Rose." Yusei explained.

"Xyz Summon?" Aporia repeated. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Good, it seems that my theory was correct." The Skeleton Knight remarked.

"What theory was that?" Kiryu asked with a suspicious eye.

"I had theorized that if both Yusei and Aki's dragons entered the Momentum stream at the same moment, the simultaneous evolution would cause them to merge and create a matter to antimatter inversion." The Skeleton Knight explained. "Thus creating an entirely new monster."

"You seem to know a good deal about this sort of thing." Bruno observed.

"I may not be an expert in Accel Synchro, but I do have a good deal of experience working with Momentum Energy." The undead knight replied.

"I don't care what kind of monster you have!" Aporia declared. "Its power can't even compare to the power of my Despair King!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Aki told him. "While Morning Rose is on the field, it negates the effects of all Machine-type monsters."

"Which means the ATK of your Despair King has dropped to zero!" Yusei added.

"What!" Aporia exclaimed.

"Since you seem to be done with your turn, I'm going to start mine!" Yusei announced as he drew his next card. "I now activate Hope Star Dragon's effect! By detaching both of its overlay units, I can summon four Synchro monsters from my Extra Deck! Appear now, Catapult Warrior, Scarred Warrior, Mighty Warrior, and Seven Swords Warrior!"

The two balls of light that were orbiting Morning Rose entered the gemstone on its chest. The dragon roared and four balls of light shot down from the sky to hover beside it. The lights took the forms of Yusei's four Synchro monsters, each of them glowing with a brilliant white aura.

"The monsters summoned by Morning Rose's effect can attack or activate their effects." Aki revealed. "But Morning Rose gains the ATK of each Synchro monster on the field. Which means its ATK goes up from 4000 to 11600!"

"How can this be?" a shocked Aporia demanded to know. "How can such a monster exist?"

"Morning Rose, destroy Despair King 666!" Yusei and Aki commanded together. "Hope Star Impact!"

The dragon roared and took off full speed towards Aporia and his lifeless machine as its body began to glow even brighter. The dragon struck the front of the Despair King and created a blinding explosion that wiped out all of Aporia's life points. After a few moments the light of the explosion finally died down. The sky had returned to normal and the land was once again desolate, lacking buildings of any sort. Crow and the others began to look around.

"The Skeleton Knight's gone." Kiryu observed.

"Good riddens." Raven replied.

"Forget about him. What about Yusei and Aki?" Crow wondered.

"Over there!" Luna called with the point of her finger.

The group quickly rode over to where Luna spotted Yusei and Aki's D-Wheels. Yusei and Aki were standing not far away from them and resumed their original appearance. The couple was standing over a fallen Aporia, who had a cracked face and a missing lower half. The others pulled up and gathered around the fallen android. Aporia was still conscious.

"I… never imagined… that such a monster could exist." Aporia spoke.

"As long as there's hope, there are always more possibilities." Yusei told him.

"Then I suppose… that Z-one has lost his hope." Aporia chuckled darkly. "For he could only see… this one option. My hopes were placed in someone who had already lost his own."

Yusei kneeled down closer to Aporia. "Your hope isn't lost. We'll find a way to prevent that future from happening."

"I… have no doubt… that if anyone can… it would be you." Aporia replied.

"Yusei, do you think you and Bruno could maybe… fix Aporia?" Raven suggested.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin." Yusei told her.

"I'm afraid that repairing Aporia is beyond my abilities as well." Bruno added.

"It's… alright. I have… lived long enough." Aporia told them. "In fact… this is probably… what I deserve… for all the acts that I committed through my embodiments. But if… it is any comfort… I feel no pain. Only hope. All of you… are the hope that I have been searching for… all along."

"We won't let you down." Yusei assured him.

"Antinomy. You must… do everything you can… to help the Signers." Aporia requested. "I now know… that Z-one… must be stopped."

"You have my word, old friend." Bruno assured him. "I'll do everything in my power to help Yusei and his friends. Z-one will be stopped!"

Aporia nodded and turned his head back to Yusei. "I wouldn't blame you and Aki… for hating me after… everything I've done. I don't think I could even begin to make up for it… even if my life wasn't coming to an end. But… I would at least… like to try… by giving you these two things. The first… is this."

The ring on Aporia's back suddenly flew off and entered Yusei's D-Wheel. The motorcycle glowed briefly with a red aura.

"Do not worry. I have… merely given your D-Wheel… the power you will need… to face Z-one." Aporia explained. "It will activate… when the time comes."

"Thanks. I'll try and make good use of it." Yusei assured him.

"The other thing… I have that I can give you… is some advice." Aporia continued. "Do not trust the Skeleton Knight. If he… and his comrade have their way… they will create a catastrophe… just as disastrous… as the Mekord invasion."

"Okay." Yusei replied. "We'll stop the Skeleton Knight too, if we have to."

"Then it seems I can… die… in peace." Aporia observed before closing his eyes for the last time.

* * *

Yusei worked to put the finishing touches on Aporia's grave marker. It had only been a few hours since he and Aki had dueled the android, and life at the Bird's Nest seemed to be returning to normal. After Aporia had shut down permanently, the gang prepared a simple grave for him near the Nest. Once Yusei had finished, he pounded the marker into the ground with the shovel that was still there. The headstone was actually a thick piece of metal that Yusei had painted letters on using black paint. The marker read, "Here lies Aporia. Though he suffered great despair throughout his life, his hope never died."

As Yusei stood to look at the work he had done, Aki walked up next to him. "You know, I'll probably always hate Placido, hate Aporia, for everything he did to me and my family. But I guess I can understand why he did some of the things he did, knowing the kind of life he must of lived in that future."

"I kind of wonder what Aporia would've been like if his life had been different." Yusei admitted. "Maybe we all would've been friends."

"The three of you would've gotten along quite well." Bruno interrupted, causing the couple to turn. "Sorry. I don't mean to intrude."

"It's okay." Yusei assured him.

"I'd understand if the two of you felt uncomfortable around me." Bruno told them. "After all, I come from the same time period as Aporia. In fact I'm not even human. Like Aporia, I'm only an android based upon a person who once lived."

"Bruno, we don't care what you are or where you're from." Yusei assured him. "All that matters is that you're our friend."

"Thanks. That means a lot." Bruno replied.

"So how much of your memory have you gotten back?" Aki asked.

"I remember a lot more than I used to, but there are still some pretty big gaps." Bruno answered. "Unfortunately I don't remember much about Z-one or how he plans to destroy Neo Domino."

"What do you remember about him?" Yusei asked.

"…Only that he seems to be a lot like you." Bruno answered after a moment. "Though now that I think about it, that doesn't make much sense. So it could be a flaw with my memory banks. I also know that even though you've stopped Aporia, he'll still find a way to come to this time."

"Then I guess we'll have to figure out how to stop him." Yusei decided.

"Is this a private heavy conversation, or can anyone join?" Crow's voice cut in. The three looked to see Crow walking up with Raven, the twins, Kiryu, and Sect.

"We were talking about how to stop Z-one." Yusei explained.

"I think Z-one might have to wait." Raven told them. "Aporia said that he might be a problem before he died. And I think he was right. I could sense a lot of evil power from him."

"Well of course the dude's evil. He's a living skeleton!" Sect pointed out.

"And he gave me and Luna that freaky card." Leo added.

"You're right. The Skeleton Knight may have helped us, but only so we'd get rid of Aporia for him." Yusei agreed. "It's clear that he has his own agenda."

"So what're we going to do about him then?" Luna wondered.

"The first thing we need to do is find Jack." Yusei decided. "We'll probably need his help against both the Skeleton Knight and Z-one."

"Oh come on! Are you kidding me?" Crow protested. "You want to ask that jerk for help after what he did? I know about that duel you had down in the Pit with him, Yusei!"

"Crow, Jack is still our brother." Kiryu pointed out. "And he fought alongside us for a long time."

"Plus he is a Signer too." Raven pointed out. "What you told me about that mark of his proves it. This was going to have to happen sooner or later, honey."

"Okay, fine! Let's all go have a big touching reunion with Jack!" Crow said very sarcastically. "But you know what that means, right? We'll have to go to Neo Domino City! Even if we could get over there by some miracle, we sure wouldn't be very welcome."

"We still have to do it." Yusei told him. "Besides, I have a score to settle with Jack anyway."

* * *

Rex Goodwin stood gazing out the window of his office. Night had fallen over the city of Neo Domino, and Rex's eyes were focused squarely in the direction of Satellite. On a normal night, one could see light from the Infinity Spire. But it had not been a normal day. There was a time that afternoon when the sun had been blocked by the moon. And as far as Rex knew there wasn't supposed to be a solar eclipse that day, let alone one that lasted for such an abnormal amount of time.

The eclipse passed of course, and things seemed to return to normal as far as the average person was concerned. But Rex was not the average citizen. He knew that there was more to the eclipse than just a random celestial anomaly. And his suspicions were confirmed that night when he looked out towards Satellite and saw no light coming from the Infinity Spire. As Rex continued to gaze out at the island, the Skeleton Knight appeared on the other side of his desk from a dark mist.

Rex noticed the knight's reflection in the window and smiled. "How did it go, Rudger?"

The Skeleton Knight removed his helmet, and with it the skull that was supposedly his face. His true face looked very much like Rex's. Only his skin was tan and he had spiked white hair. Painted onto his cheeks were vertical red markings.

"It all went perfectly, brother." Rudger answered. "Yusei Fudo was able to eliminate the Infinity Triad once and for all, just as we thought he would."

"Excellent!" Rex declared as he turned around. "Now that the Infinity Triad is no more, we can finally proceed with our plans."

"What about Yusei?" Rudger asked. "He might be of further use to us."

"Are you suggesting that we let him and his little friends come to the city?" Rex inquired.

"At the very least we should reward him for his efforts in some way." Rudger pointed out. "And besides, we might be able to make good use of his friend, Kiryu."

"You wouldn't happen to be feeling a bit of guilt over the business with Yusei's father, would you?" Rex asked with a quirked brow. Rudger remained silent. "Ah well. It doesn't really matter, I suppose. Yusei could still serve a purpose as the city's new champion. The public has grown tiered of Jack recently. I think a change might finally be in order."

"It would save him from sharing the same fate as the rest of Satellite." Rudger agreed.

"It truly is a pity, but sacrifices must be made to save this city and the world itself." Rex reminded him. "In the end there is no choice but for the people of Satellite to parish."

END OF BOOK 1

* * *

**Author's Note:** To those who might be ticked off that I used an Xyz monster in a 5D's story, I'm sorry. The reason I did is because I wanted Yusei and Aki to defeat Aporia using a fusion of their dragons. A Fusion monster would've been too predictable, and using both dragons for a Synchro Summon would've involved drastically reducing both their levels. Still, I had some reservations about using an Xyz monster because I felt there'd be readers who wouldn't like it at all. So I hope this didn't ruin the story for anyone.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this first installment on 5D's Alternative. I certainly had a blast writing it. It's been a story I've been wanting to do for a long time. Yusei, Aki, and Aporia, are my top favorite characters from 5D's. And I've noticed that there don't really seem to be any Yusei and Aki stories that feature Aporia and his embodiments as the villain(s). So I wanted to do something to change that a little. But while this may be the end of Stardust and Roses, the rest of the 5D's Alternative story has yet to begin.

Stay tuned for **5D's Alternative Book 2: The False King**

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


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